LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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^ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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RETRIBUTION; 

OR, 

HEAVEN AND HELL. 

B Y 

WOODRUFF L. BARNES. 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS, 
AND ITS CONSONANCE WITH HUMAN REASON : 
PICTORIALLY ILLUSTRATED. 




Hew por^: 
si^ll & o o nvr ze> ^ usr ~5T 7 

23 PARK ROW. 
1SS3. 



Copyright, 1883. 
By J. E. BATES. 



The Library 
of Congress 

washington 



Electrotyped and Printed by BlCHARD HANDY, 
45 to 51 Rose Street, New York. 



PREFACE. 



Prefaces are, sometimes, rather lame excuses for 
what ought not to have been written. Such might 
be supposed to be the case in the present instance, 
(so much having been written about it) were not 
the subject treated, of such world-wide significance. 
The thoughts of one age, however, are stepping 
stones, as it were, to another, and for this reason, 
with respect to any subject like the one in hand, 
that calls for new conceptions to life and thought, 
frequent re-consideration is required. Few minds, 
moreover, are apprehensive ; fewer, still, retentive : 
we need, therefore, line upon line, and precept upon 
precept. We are not aware, in addition, that the 
particular line of thought pursued, has heretofore 
engaged attention ; and because of this, perhaps, 
the author may, in part at least, be held excused. 

The beautiful steel engraving in the fore part of 
the volume, the work of the American Bank Note 
Company, is an exact copy of a large oil painting, 
five by eight feet in size, the composition of the 
author, and now belonging to him. It is the prac- 
tical result of biblical studies, as a Sunday-school 
and bible-class student and teacher, extending over 
many years, proving useful to himself and others. 



iv 



PREFACE. 



It has been thrown into* permanent form, in the 
hope # if not expectation of more extended useful- 
ness. 

The subject itself, as to its treatment, may be 
supposed to be within the peculiar province of 
clergymen. In these days of wide investigation 
and discussion, when any new idea is of treasured 
value, we cannot quite agree to this ; regretting, 
however, that its vindication and support, were not 
committed to abler hands. 

Believing, for many years past, that the general 
view we have now taken of this subject, is the true 
one, and that its presentation would be more satis- 
factorily accomplished, by confining ourselves to 
our own conceptions of the subject, we have pur- 
posely refrained from consulting authorities or 
commentaries of any kind, save a single one, to 
verify, merely, some astronomical statements. We 
venture to hope, that while, on this account, the 
work may be less instructive, it will not be less 
novel, nor possibly, less interesting. 

The somewhat repetitious character of the work, 
will, we trust, as designed, serve useful purposes, to 
cursory readers. The full illustration of the chart, 
will be found in the eleventh and twelfth chapters. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Introduction Page i 

chapter ii. 

Order of the Universe " 7 

chapter iii. 

The Physical Order " 34 

chapter iv. 

The Moral Order " 45 

chapter v. 

Free Agency M „ 57 

chapter vi. 

Heaven and Hell " 72 

chapter vii. 

Unpardonable Sin; Fore Knowledge " 100 

chapter viii. 

Election; Foreordination ; Total Depravity.. " no 

chapter ix. 

Special Providences " 122 

Enoch ; The Flood ; Confusion of Tongues ; 
The Exodus ; The Sun and Moon Standing 
Still ; Samson ; Samuel ; Elijah ; Hezekiah, 
His Sickness and Prayer ; Daniel ; Jesus, the 
Christ. 

chapter x. 

Dispensations " 159 

Eden ; Eden to the Flood ; Flood to Confu- 
sion of Tongues ; Confusion of Tongues to 
Christ ; Present Dispensation. 



vi 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Explanation of Chart ...Page 175 

Infancy, Marriage, the Family. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Explanation, Continued " 192 

Age of Accountability ; Lines of Life, or 
Returning Paths ; The Narrow-Way ; The 
Broad-Way ; The Disembodied State of the 
Unrighteous ; The Bar of God or Judgment 
Day of the Unrighteous : The Nature of the 
Resurrection ; The Final Hell ; Why Sodom 
and Gomorrah Were Destroyed; Why the Ante- 
Diluvian World ; The Disembodied State of 
the Righteous, or Heaven ; The Garden of 
Eden ; Christian Homes ; Recognition in 
Heaven ; the Judgment of the Righteous ; 
The Final Heaven — a New Heaven and a 
New Earth ; The Stellar Realms and their 
Heavens. 



RETRIBUTION; 

OR 

HEAVEN AND HELL. 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



The subject we are to consider in the following 
pages is of vital import to the whole human family 
not merely, but to the Universe at large. 

If it be true, as we think will hereafter reason- 
ably appear, that Heaven and Hell are cosmic ad- 
justment of what may, properly, be termed the or- 
der of the Universe, at large, of which that of our 
earth is a component part, their amazing significance 
will be at once apparent. 

Embracing, in their scope, the divine economy 
of all worlds — the adjustments of the physical, as 
well as the moral order — and reaching the case 
of every finite, intelligent, accountable being, it is 
not surprising that they have excited, intensely, the 
hopes and fears of mankind, in all ages. Heaven ! 
Hell ! A universe of ideas ! A universe of con- 
crete facts, in two words ! Why should we not 
both hope and fear ? 

Let it be stated, at the outset, as indicated by the 
title of our volume, that we have no controversy 



2 



RE TRIB UTIOX j OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



with the Bible, as a revelation of God to man : we 
would as soon take issue with the multiplication- 
table, in mathematical studies. 

We believe in a Supreme Being, infinite in all 
His attributes, self-existent, and eternal — an abso- 
lute personality, so to speak — distinct from creation, 
as such, governing all worlds, by the order physical 
and moral, which He. from ail eternity, has estab- 
lished for that purpose ; not by law, as predicated 
of Him, but by His immanent power, knowledge, 
wisdom, and love. 

We believe that God has revealed Himself to 
finite, intelligent, accountable beings, in part, 
through the visible creation ; in part, through a 
universal consciousness ; and, in part, through ver- 
bal or other communications, made to them from 
time to time. 

So far as mankind are concerned, the Bible is the 
special revelation to them : we, therefore, accept 
its authority as final, upon all questions that come 
within its scope ; concerning ourselves, only, in its 
proper interpretation, where circumstances call 
for it, and as ability permits. 

As our object, moreover, is a limited one, not 
intending to go over the ground so frequently 
traversed by former writers, we shall not notice the 
thousand and one questions that have been mooted 
upon this subject, nor enter, largely, upon critical 
interpretations of the Bible. 

The Bible was written, primarily, for common 
men, of common minds, and common understand- 
ings ; its simplest interpretation, therefore, for all 
useful purposes, is the best. 



IX TROD I'C TORY. 



It does not exclude reverent inquiry, nay, rather 
invites it ; but it answers to the deep intuitions of 
the race — is their necessary complement, indeed — 
and so subordinates the intellect, in all important 
matters. The truths of the Bible, and their divine 
authenticitv, are, larcrelv, intuitions of the soul ; 
we could not reject them, if we would. 

Historically, also, so far as the Bible concerns it- 
self in this direction, we accept its statements. 
Chronology, indeed, is unimportant, comparatively ; 
but the character, and something of the order of 
events, when properly ascertained, are to be relied 
on. The biblical accounts of creation, of Adam 
and Eve, of the Garden of Eden, of the temptation 
and fall, of the expulsion, and of the serpent, are 
facts of most momentous significance, however inter- 
preted. The facts, and something of the order, of 
their occurrence, is what we are concerned with ; 
not the latitudinous explanations that are frequent- 
ly given of them. We repeat, then, we have no 
controversy with the Bible ; we accept it, in its sim- 
plest, and, generally, in its most obvious meaning. 

The literature of this subject is one of the mar- 
vels of the ages : its consideration commenced with 
the dawn of the race ; and will end, we imagine, 
only when the world itself — the present dispensa- 
tion — shall come to an end. The first discussion 
in regard to it, is recorded in Genesis 3 : 4, 5. where 
the serpent, in reply to Eve, speaks as follows : — 

''And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye sh 
not S7crely die ; for God doth know that in the day 
ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and 
ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." 



4 



RETRIBUTION j OR HEA VEN AND HELL. 



The fatal knowledge of evil being thrust upon 
the race by the compliance of Adam and Eve, from 
that day to this, the world has teemed with discus- 
sions upon the subject ; cropping out in the myth- 
ology and traditions of all nations, their history, 
habits, and literature : upon no other subject, di- 
rectly and indirectly, have so many books been 
written. Many of these have been tabulated by 
eminent authority, the list embracing some thou- 
sands, but only those, however, that treat the sub- 
ject directly. 

There seems, indeed, a necessity for the almost 
constant re-consideration of the subject, as its tre- 
mendous significance will admit of nothing less. If, 
moreover, revelation, with respect to finite compre- 
hension, is a never-ending unfolding of the divine 
economy of the Universe, as, doubtless, is the case, 
this, of itself, is a sufficient reason, why the subject 
should be one of constant concern, and reverent 
investigation. The thoughts of one age are step- 
ping stones, as it were, to another, and for this rea- 
son, too, inquiry should go on. Our language, in 
addition, is a changeable one, so far as words and 
their meaning are concerned, and this, also, renders 
occasional reconsideration desirable. The neces- 
sity for a revised edition of the Bible, now in part 
so happily consummated, is pregnant evidence on 
this point. 

In further apology for the present effort, it may 
be stated that this entire subject lies very vaguely 
in the minds of a great many people, including vast 
numbers of professing christians, while others open- 
ly deride it. By the former, if they have any defi- 



IN TR OD UC TOR V. 



5 



nite views about it, Heaven and Hell are places of 
existence, on some other planet than our own, that 
are to be reached, only, when the spirit leaves the 
body : the one an undefinable place of happiness, 
having little or no connection with moral character 
in life ; the other an equally undefinable place of 
suffering, where a revengeful God forever torments 
the weak and sinful beings He has created. The 
latter openly deride the entire subject of rewards 
and punishments, alleging that Heaven and Hell 
are fictions of a diseased brain, or the malicious in- 
ventions of priestcraft. 

The rationalistic literature of the present day, 
teems with these allegations ; the alarming inroads 
of which upon modern thought, are simply deplora- 
ble. An atheistic materialism, excluding all forms 
of accountability, flouts the idea of either Heaven 
or Hell, and the moral forces they include ; while 
qualified forms of these godless theories, have in- 
vaded, alike, pulpit and platform ; educational in- 
stitutions and methods ; literature and society ; 
threatening the debasement, or destruction of all, by 
their serpent-like advances. The tendency of the 
age, is, unquestionably, to licentiousness of thought 
and action, and there is an earnest call for con- 
certed effort to arrest it. The moral sanctions of 
society in some directions are losing their force ; 
crimes of every grade, and civil, political and social 
delinquencies of every kind, are multiplying ; and 
still society rushes on in its thoughtless course. 

We believe that civilization, itself, is involved in 
this matter, and right views upon it, therefore, are 
vitally important. Moral restraint is essential to 



6 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



the very existence of society ; as without it, men 
would fly at each other's throats, as wild beasts do, 
and a very pandemonium on earth would be estab- 
lished : Heaven and Hell, and the moral sanctions 
they include, are, we repeat, the only possible safe- 
guards of society. 

Let the materialistic infidelity of the present day 
go on unchecked, and soon anything in the likeness 
of morality, even, will be blotted out of existence. 
In the divine economy, as exhibited to mankind, 
there is an absolute necessity for both a "Hell and a 
Heaven : fears as well as hopes are moral forces ; 
both must be appealed to, as in no other way can 
society be saved. There is such a thing as natural 
depravity — universal in its application to mankind ; 
total, with respect to each and every attribute of 
body, soul, and spirit : imperfection characterizes 
all. The tendency of the race, therefore, is to evil, 
which can be checked, or reversed, only by appeals 
to both fear and hope, according to the divine 
economy to this end : by grace, indeed, are we 
saved ; but fear is the beginnine G f wisdom — its 
necessary complement : a wise father chasteneth a 
son whom he loveth. The foundations of human 
happiness, are — something to do ; something to 
fear ; something to love ; something to hope for. 
The moral economy ' of the Universe, involves 
all these conditions : character can be fully and 
rightly developed, in no other way. 



THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



7 



CHAPTER II. 



THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



The foundation of all suitable discussion of 
Heaven and Hell, is, as already indicated, the order 
of the Universe at large, of which that of our earth 
is, simply, a component part. This order is two- 
fold, physical and moral, each of which^will be con- 
sidered a little in detail, in future chapters : at pres- 
ent we concern ourselves, only with some general 
reflections, with regard to it. 

Apprehensive minds cannot have failed to ask 
themselves, at some period of their lives, the 
question — was there ever a time, when habitable 
earths, such as that upon which we live, were not in 
existence ? A serious consideration of the subject 
is eminently proper ; as part of the duty devolved 
upon the human beings, by an all-wise Creator, is a 
reverent examination of both creation and provi- 
dence. The very structure of the mind, as well as 
the mysteries around us in nature, alike suggest and 
demand this. We are made in the ima^e of God : 
He has all knowledge — is omniscient ; we are capa- 
ble of continued acquisitions. We are children — 
God's children — and in the relations He desires us 
to think of Him, He cannot fail to be pleased with 
our ever-expanding knowledge, as loving fathers 
on the earth are, with the opening minds of their 
little ones. Creation is, in part, a revelation of 



8 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



God, to His finite creatures; reverent investiga- 
tions, then, are as pleasing to Him, as to us. 

To secure a proper exercise of our faculties, He 
has deeply imparted in our natures, a desire for 
knowledge — for a never-ending comprehension of 
His revelation to us. There can be no true, per- 
missible knowledge, that has not the latter for its 
object. There is knowledge to be had that is not 
best for us — knowledge that reveals the Devil, not 
God : it were better if the race had never known 
sin at all. 

Now, as in the Garden of Eden, when the race 
was sinless, some kinds of knowledge, if acquired 
by experience, are detrimental to us — possibly fatal. 
Adam and Eve had been told by God, that there 
was, in the garden, a tree of the knowledge of good 
and evil ; but He had, also, told them, that they 
must not eat of it, as, if they did, they would surely 
die. He did not put any physical restraint upon 
them, but told them of the fearful result, should 
they violate His commands. 

Had they trusted God, who had manifested His 
loving care of them in so many ways, and declined 
the forbidden fruit of knowledge, it would have been 
better for them, and their hapless descendants. 
Curiosity, however, lent wings to imagination, and 
the forbidden fruit was seized and eaten, with 
whatsoever misgivings, and from that day to this, 
and until the great trumpet shall sound, the earth 
mourns, as never mother mourned her lost ones. 

Before the fall, Adam and Eve did not know 
much about evil — nothing about sin : they had 
been told, however, about evil, and warned against 



THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



9 



it, and they should have been satisfied with this. 
The mere knowledge of evil did them no harm ; 
but when evil was intended and put in practice, sin 
supervened, and purity and innocence were banish- 
ed from the earth. 

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil did 
not perish in the Garden of Eden: it still lives ; and 
despite the fact that it is as deadly as ever, its fruit 
continues to be eaten, by the sons and daughters of 
Adam and Eve ; with greater relish, apparently, 
than did the latter, and with vastly less excuse. 
Adam and Eve had had no observational knowledge 
of evil, whatever ; therefore the greater sin was 
that of Satan who tempted and deceived them. 

The race now, have observational knowledge of 
evil, and hence deliberate transgressors are less ex- 
cusable than were our first parents. 

How all this tallies with and corresponds to hu- 
man experience, need not be exemplified ; one 
special application only, will we make of it. 

Eve was held as the first practical transgressor, 
in the Garden — perhaps as between her and her 
husband, because of her higher spiritual endow- 
ments, the greater transgressor, Because of this 
woman is the greater sufferer, and till her sin is 
fully atoned for, must ever remain so. She is the 
mother of the race, and the vicarious principle, 
in a qualified sense, must ever be illustrated in 
her : she must surfer, in order that the race may be 
born — that the race may be saved. In one 
sense this is the tree of life, but it would not have 
been translated into suffering and death, had there 
been no sin. 



IO RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL, 

What all this means we need not particularly ex- 
emplify ; purity and innocence are the tree of life ; 
impurity and sin, the open door to suffering and 
death : " thou shalt not eat of it ; for in the day 
that the- a eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." 

As matters now are : 

" Grief should be the instrument of the wise. 

Sorrow is knowledge : they who know the most, 
Must mourn the deepest o'er the fatal truth ; 

The tree of knowledge, is not the tree of life." 

Byron wrote this : he knew its bitter meaning, 
out of a scarred and sin-stricken life. 

As the point we are considering is one of vital 
significance, it will be referred to hereafter. 

We recur, now, to the question — was there ever 
a time, when habitable earths, such as our own, 
were not in existence ? When material creations, 
as we now apprehend them, were not in being ? 

The question is a fair one, and not without diffi- 
culty. 

The phrase in the Bible, Genesis i : i — " In the 
beginning God created the heaven and the earth," 
has always seemed, to us, to have two meanings — 
a cosmic and particular application. Its particular 
significance is, that the heaven and the earth had 
their origin in God — a being of infinite power, wis- 
dom, omniscience, and love — as their sole author; 
its wider significance, that God is the creator of 
the Universe of worlds, and all things therein. 

The word heaven, as here used, does not refer 
to the stellar system ; but, merely, to the surround- 
ing atmosphere, and other environments of the 
earth : in other words, as God was about to create 



THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



man in His own image ; who was to be, in a sense, 
His son — His child — He determines to make a 
suitable home for him. 

As our earth, as now constituted, as both science- 
and scripture agree, had its origin within a period 
geologically computable— its inhabitation within a 
comparatively limited period— it is fair to say, that 
all other earths, habitable or otherwise, had their 
origin in time, also : this is the common view. The 
difficulty involved here, however, is a considerable 
one, in many minds. If the material Universe ever 
had a beginning, as the word is commonly under- 
stood, then it follows, as a necessary conclusion, 
that so far as such manifestations of Himself are 
concerned, God must have remained idle, as it 
were, for a never-ending eternity preceding such 
beginning : having no society, so to speak, but that 
of Himself. This is, indeed, conceivable, since no 
material creations, nor finite existences of any kind, 
are necessary to His happiness ; but as it is at 
variance with what seems to be the order of the 
universe, as revealed to us, it may, also, be fairly 
questioned if such be the fact. God is eternal in 
His own existence ; space is absolutely boundless ; 
time, as we apprehend it, never had a beginning — 
never will have an end : what insurmountable diffi- 
culty, then, in supposing that creation, even in an 
objective sense, has been going on through all time 
past ? 

We do not presume to decide such questions ; 
but, if reverently considered, with reference to our 
better comprehension of God's glory and being, 
they may well be sustained. 



I 2 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



Science, moreover, reveals to us the fact, that our 
solar-system, as a whole, and as it now is, came in- 
to being, also, within a comparatively recent period. 

As, now, the fixed stars are admitted to be cen- 
tral suns of other systems, many of them vastly 
older than our own ; and as the stellar universe, as 
now observable by our best telescopes, is so vast as 
to suggest infinity itself ; what real difficulty is 
there, in supposing an unending series of creations 
in an eternity past, or in an eternity to come. Any 
adequate conception of eternity, past or future, we 
know cannot be had ; but the idea we do have, and, 
for our own present purposes, this is all we need. 

Thus far we have considered creation as the 
work of a personal creator ; supporting it by no 
labored argument, first, because it needs none ; and, 
second, because such discussion is entirely aside 
from the object we now have in view. 

There is another theory of creation, which, 
though its consideration, in detail, is also foreign to 
our present purpose, we will notice, briefly. This 
theory goes by the name of evolution : a pseudonym, 
as ordinarily applied, but sufficiently definite for all 
practical purposes. 

As now defended, evolution is of two forms — 
theistic and atheistic. The theistic theory ad- 
mits — hesitatingly, however, as to many — the ex- 
istence of the Supreme Being, who made the first 
and simplest forms of organic life — such as the 
monad of modern science — from which, by natural 
selection and survival of the fittest, all other forms, 
whatever, man included, have been evolved. 

This view prevails, widely, in both Europe and 



THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



13 



America, and, perhaps, may, at present, at least, be 
said to be the common one. With slight, and, as 
we cannot help thinking, unimportant modifications, 
it is held by a few of our most justly eminent 
scholars, and taught in some of our highest institu- 
tions of learning. 

The atheistic form of the theory, or doctrine, if 
so senseless a theory may be thus dignified, as yet 
openly accepted by very few, but resting upon a 
more philosophical basis than the former, and there- 
fore, growing in favor with all those who accept 
the theory at all, denies the existence, even of a 
personal God, and attributes all phenomena of or- 
ganized being to spontaneous generation, in the 
first instance, and to natural selection and survival 
of the fittest, thereafter. The special advocate of 
this form of the doctrine, is Haeckel, of Germany, 
whose recent works on this subject, are widely 
known and read. 

The substantial agreement of these two forms of 
the doctrine need not be pointed out. We are 
quite well aware that this is denied by some very 
excellent Christian men, who accept the theistic 
theory ; and since we are not, now, to consider the 
matter, at large, so as to sustain in our posi- 
tion, argumentatively, it will be said that we should 
not. make such a pointed suggestion. Under ordi- 
nary circumstances, we should be restrained by such 
a consideration ; but as the subject, in our judg- 
ment, vitally concerns religion itself ; and as we 
have not been an indifferent reader, if not student, 
of this, so called, science, we cannot be restrained 
in our present course. 



14 RETRIBUTION j OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



We think we do not err in saying, that the large 
majority of those who hold the theistic theory — ■ 
not all however — include in the law, all physical or- 
ganizations whatever, those of human beings not 
excepted, as certainly all do, who hold the atheistic 
view. 

There are one or two fair deductions from these 
premises, that we feel called on to make :— We 
firmly believe the system to be the worst, most 
brutish, form of infidelity, now or ever in existence ; 
and that it is doing more harm to society and re- 
ligion — the latter the only safeguard society has — 
than all other systems put together : its tendency 
is ante-diluvian — -to the entire destruction of the 
race ; its abettors are either devils incarnate ; or, 
whether intended so or not, Satan's most efficient 
aids. We must be pardoned plain speaking at this 
point, when so many of our higher institutions of 
learning, and Christian pulpits are being dragged in 
the mire of these godless theories. 

If, now, all organized physical life, that of man 
included, has been evolved, as claimed by evolution- 
ists, from lower forms of life ; and if, as also claimed, 
man is immediately derived from the simia, from 
which branch of the simia, or monkey tribes, has 
the Saviour of mankind been evolved ? Blasphe- 
mous as the mere suggestion seems to be, we sub- 
mit :— that if there be the least foundation, what- 
ever, for the theory we are considering, the ques- 
tion is a fair one. 

But, more than this — as the enormities of the sys- 
tem can never be exhausted — if the facts, as well as 
philosophy of evolution be true, what is to prevent 



THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



15 



further exemplifications of the law? If mankind 
are lineal descendants of Anthropoid apes, in an 
unbroken series from the monad, what is to pre- 
sent, as suggested by the very able author of " The 
Problem of Human Life," their further development 
into higher ranks of beings—into angels, archangels, 
and finally, if there must be a limit to the law, into 
Supreme Beings : we use the plural number, here, 
as nothing less will fully meet the blasphemous 
philosophy involved. 

To indicate the recklessness, with which the ar- 
gument, in support of this theory is pursued, a sin- 
gle exemplification of it will be noticed — that which 
may be denominated the embryological argu- 
ment : — 

It is known to physiologists that the ovules of all 
vertebrates, prior to fecundation, are so nearly 
alike in appearance, and constitution, that no sub- 
stantial differences can be detected in them by any 
observation thus far possible ; varying only, slight- 
ly, in size. They are globular — about the 125th of 
an inch in diameter, taking the human ovule as a 
sample — and approach as near, to all appearance, 
to unorganized matter, as can be conceived : they 
may be properly termed — vertebrate monads. This 
resemblance — absolute homogeneousness as evolu- 
tionists declare, without sufficient authority, how- 
ever — is held to be proof positive, that all verte- 
brates, from man to lowest forms, are derived from 
.some common source, in ages past ; presumably 
from some ganoid or other fish of the sea. Far- 
cical as this seems, the view is seriously held, 
despite the fact, that, primarily, it is supported by 



i6 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



no other evidence, whatever, than the resemblance 
we have noticed. 

But the farce does not end here : for after gesta- 
tion has proceeded a few days, the vitalized germ 
becomes elongated, foreshadowing in rude outline, 
the form of the animal ; this being common to all 
vertebrates, tailed or otherwise. The lower por- 
tion of this elongated part — the os coecyx, as it is 
known to science — in the case of the human germ, 
is described by Darwin, Haeckel, and others of sim- 
ilar apprehensiveness — believed in also, by all evo- 
lutionists — as the "human tail." Lest we be ac- 
cused of unsurpassed irony, we hasten to observe 
that. Haeckel in his great work — " History of Crea- 
ation " — asserts this as a fact ; founds his principal 
argument upon it ; and illustrates it, thoroughly, 
by engraved plates of the entire gestating process. 

The value of this evidence of descent from 
"tailed ancestors," as evolutionists affirm, can be 
readily estimated from the simple fact that the 
osseous structure of all vertebrates, is first develop- 
ed. In the crder of development, the vertebral 
column, or backbone, including the os coecyx,, is first 
to appear ; and, laughable as it may seem, this 
lower portion, in the case of the human embryo, is 
the marvellously suggestive little "human tail" of 
these evolution seers and prophets ; scientific jug- 
glers, perhaps, would be their proper designation. 

'The bony structure of all vertebrates, is the frame- 
work, so to speak, of the animal, about which its 
other parts are deposited. Any intelligent house- 
builder, would have comprehended this ; as in all 
cases when he constructs a frame building, he puts. 



THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



17 



up the frame first, and finishes it afterwards. We 
cannot, now, enter into further refutation of this 
witless argument : its premises are mere assump- 
tion ; its support a ridiculous farce. Those who 
wish to see its overwhelming refutation, may con- 
sult the " Problem of Human Life," already referred 
to, page 370 et seq.\ a work of masterly ability ; 
which follows, fatally, this entire doctrine, in all its 
serpent-like form. 

We have deviated, thus, a little, from the main 
purpose of our work, because of the gravely impor- 
tant issues raised by the doctrine of evolution. It 
is the boldest, and, thus far in human history, the 
most successful attempt to dethrone the Almighty, 
that has ever been made : but one case parallels it 
in unblushing wickedness — that of the Devil's 
temptation of our Lord and Savior. As the Devil 
was unsuccessful in his diabolical efforts, so will 
these imitators of him be, in their equally diabolical 
attempt. That w r e are doing no injustice to Haeck- 
el, in this imputation, will be readily seen by any- 
one who reads his work. He avows at the outset, 
in his " History of Creation," his hostility to the 
creative theory ; flouts the idea of a personal crea- 
tor ; and derides all those who support that view. 
His w r ork is neither history nor science ; and, 
as the late Professor A^assiz said of the " Vesti- 
ges of Creation" when it first appeared, is unworthy 
of serious refutation. No such insufferable dog- 
matism can be found in human history, as Ha^ckel 
and such as he exhibit. The modes of creation 
being thus referred to, a second question presents 
itself — are other earths, in other systems, habit- 



1 8 RETRIBUTION ; OR BE A VEN AND HELL. 



able ? The answer to this question, must be 
wholly inferential, as we lack all positive, observa- 
tional knowledge in regard to it. The earth on 
which we live, was created especially for its inhabi- 
tation by man ; and as it is only one of countless 
millions in space, analogy teaches us, that others, 
also, were created for a similar purpose. Whether 
any of the other planets of our solar system, even, 
are inhabited, we do not know : if they are, they 
must be by beings capable of living under conditions 
widely different from such as prevail on this earth. 
This may be so, as the conditions of life on this 
globe — its fauna and flora considered — differ wide- 
ly : we can see no insurmountable objection to this 
view ; analogy favors it. 

With respect to other systems than our own, 
the law of analogy, also, fairly applies. Consider- 
ing God's character, and His infinite power and 
resources, the inference is almost a necessary one, 
that they are inhabited. If He has created one 
system for habitable purposes, why should he not 
create others ? Why begin Creation at all, if it is 
not to be continued ? God's power and glory are 
displayed, not so much in the creation of inanimate 
worlds, as in the creation of intelligent, immortal 
beings, somewhat like Himself : why, then, should 
He create vast myriads of worlds, and not people 
them with His children ? We on this earth, are 
like God in many respects : — through the marriage 
institution, He has given us the power to create 
children — human souls ; and has planted instincts 
in us — types of his own love — that prompt us to 
provide homes for them : are we not imitating — 



THE ORDER OE THE UNIVERSE. 



l 9 



imaging — Him, in so doing ? It is not supposable, 
that our earth is the only inhabited one in the 
Universe. An endless series of inhabited earths, 
impossible as it is to realize it fully, is less objec- 
tionable to reason, than that there is only one. The 
conclusion is irresistible : tlie earth is one of un- 
counted myriads, perhaps of a literally endless 
series, of habitable globes, where the power and 
glory of God are displayed. 

One of the objections raised by modern material- 
ists to the creative theory, is founded upon the as- 
sumed indestructibility of matter. Because of this, 
matter is claimed to be eternal ; its arrangement, in 
the form of globes, or otherwise, being due to the 
operation of fixed laws which come within the range 
of observation — using: the latter term to include all 
results that are not within the scope of observed 
phenomena, as well as those that are. 

These so-called laws are held to be properties of 
matter, requiring no supernatural interventions of 
any kind, to which, alone, all phenomena of being 
are attributable. 

This argument, like that of Hume, the historian, 
of which, were he now living, he himself would be 
ashamed, assumes, that human observation and ex- 
perience are the limit of possibility : — assumes that 
we can, not only know nothing that does not come 
within the range of the senses, but that nothing can 
exist, no phenomena can occur, that is not within 
their scope. How at variance, logically, this is 
with the fact that new revelations in physics, and 
otherwise, are constantly being developed, is appar- 
ent to the dullest apprehension : the inferences de- 



20 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



ducible from this fact, are necessary inductions of 
the mind, and cannot be rejected ; reason and in- 
tuition unite to confirm them : a wilful perversity, 
only, can reject them. 

Because matter, as comprehended by us, seems 
indestructible, it does not necessarily follow that it 
is so. If the proposition be limited to observed 
phenomena, and their recognizable results, in the 
objective world, as at present constituted, no ex- 
ception need be taken to it ; but if it be extended 
to all future time, and to all future possibilities, its 
absurdity is demonstrated, logically, by the new 
discoveries of all past ages. 

In physics, as elsewhere, revelation is a never-end- 
ing unfolding— a forever coming into being — of 
infinite possibilities. As matters now are, will new 
material inventions ever cease ? Here, as else- 
where, accretion is the law ; experience demon- 
strates both the law and the fact : it cannot be 
otherwise, as human experience, necessarily involv- 
ing the idea of continued development, will never 
cease : the human mind will never — can never — 
here or hereafter — in this or the future life — be 
satisfied with past acquisitions. 

If new discoveries in the physical world, will be of 
constant recurrence, will revelations in the imma- 
terial world, be less marked or continuous ? Why 
think at all, if new thoughts be impossible ? The 
very structure of the mind involves continuity, pro- 
gress, development ; could it long exist without 
them ? Matter, then, in the limited sense in which 
we commonly use the term, the radical sense of 
which is a progressive advancing or unfolding, is 



THE ORDER OF THE U XI VERSE. 



not indestructible ; that is, as it was once, (as all 
true science in harmony with the word of God de- 
monstrates) in a gaseous state, so ethereal, as to be 
entirely beyond the range of our senses, as now 
constituted ; so, in like manner, by an immediate 
fiat of God, or by those -gradual changes which 
are the ordinary manifestations of God's power, it 
may be re-sublimed till all trace of recognizable or 
even inferential materiality disappears. We beg 
to remind our readers that, thus far, we are no- 
ticing, merely, the logic of human experience, as 
the measure of possibility, In further illustration 
of this senseless philosophy, let us look at the 
diamond a moment, among the hardest of known 
substances : — it was once a ^as*so tenuous as to be. 
wholly unrecognizable by the senses ; and it can be 
sublimed, again, into the same condition — till every 
trace of materiality, as this logic considers it, dis- 
appears. Nature teems with these analogies, the 
force of which no sane or unperverted mind can 
resist : matter, then, we repeat, is not in this sense, 
indestructible. 

But we go further : — we say that there is, to 
our necessary conceptions, a radical difference be- 
tween matter and spirit, between the material 
and the immaterial. The latter in the domain 
of reason and intuition precedes the former, and is 
the direct and immediate cause of it ; in other 
words, God is the Creator of all things, for whom, 
and by whom all things consist, as scripture, also, 
attests. God Himself, and He only, is pure spirit. 
We may not enter His immediate presence, lacking 
all power to do so, but we may approach Him, nev- 



* 



22 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



ertheless, as He lovingly invites us to do ; and if 
He vails Himself from our lonoqno; eyes, it is be- 
cause we would be dazzled by His brightness, and 
by translating faith into knowledge would be de- 
prived of trust, our truest ground of happiness in 
the world, Knowledge, merely, we repeat, can save 
no one; a firm and abiding faith in a known, yet 
incomprehensible God, and conformity to the Divine 
economy He has ordained, alone, can save us. 

We think it highly important to preserve a marked 
line of distinction between matter, as the term is 
commonly understood, and spirit Matter exists in 
various forms, from the earth on which we live, with 
all its grosser elements, to the most attenuated 
gases that come within our knowledge, or can rea- 
sonably be inferred to exist. However tenuous the 
latter, they are readily conceived of as material ele- 
ments, and, as such, entirely distinct from spirit : 
we cannot, indeed, think of them otherwise. Mat- 
ter is of itself inert ; moves only by forces foreign 
to itself : it is without life, and can come into being, 
elementally or otherwise, only by creation — by the 
fiat, or act, of an intelligent, spiritual being : in the 
strictly natural world, by God. ; in the world, as 
modified and combined for the practical necessities 
of the race, by man. God, as an infinite spirit, is 
the Creator of matter ; man, as . a finite spirit, 
imaging God in this respect, is its re-creator, so to 
speak ; adapting it, by combinations and re-combi- 
nations, to his own needs ; and if so done with right 
motives, and to right ends, glorifying God thereby. 
Matter, we repeat, is inert, dead ; spirit, only, is life : 
merely spiritual beings never die, 



THE ORDER OF 77/ E UNIVERSE 



23 



In accordance with this, all combinations of mat- 
ter, whether by natural or artificial processes, 
producing new forms, are brought into being im- 
mediately ; and however suggestive some of them 
may be, they still are nothing but matter, and sub- 
ject to fixed laws, they cannot but obey : they are 
unintelligent, irresponsible. 

Spirit, on the other hand, little as we know of it, 
is an immaterial substance ; if it be allowable to 
speak of spiritual beings in this way , and is pre- 
dicable, only, of rational, accountable beings, hav- 
ing none of the properties of matter : — predicable 
of God, in the first instance ; of other merely 
spiritual beings such as the angels, and, so far as 
this earth is concerned, of the soul of man only : 
the latter being an immaterial, spiritual entity, or 
substance, as distinct from the body, as steam is 
from the engine it drives ; as man is from the house 
in which he lives : as God is from the material 
Universe. 

Whatever spirit may be, a point we do not presume 
to decide, it is not matter ; and for purposes of dis- 
cussion, merely, if there were no other reasons for 
it, it should never be considered as such. It may 
not be important we should ever know what it 
really is ; but the best interests of the race, require 
that our terminology should not mislead us. We 
protest against the modern tendency in this respect, 
as unfair, uncalled for, unnecessary. The greal 
cause of truth in the world, will be best subserved 
by candor and fair-dealing. The ad captandum 
method is disgraceful ; going far to prove the natu- 
ral depravity of the heart : it is as offensive to good 
manners, as to truth. 



24 RETRIBUTION; OR HEAVEN AND HELL, 



Pure spirit, we repeat, is predicable only of the 
Supreme Being — the self-existent, uncreated, un- 
derived, God of the Universe ; the Creator and 
upholder of all things, by His immanent power and 
love : it is simply sacrilege, to confound Him, even 
by terminology, with any created being or thing. 
With respect to those, even, who disbelieve the 
existence of a Supreme Being, the common dis- 
tinction, as a means of arriving at truth, should be 
fairly recognized : the subject is too gravely impor- 
tant, to be treated in any other way. 

Some objection has been raised to the wording 
of the Westminster Catechism, because of its 
assertion that the visible, material creation was 
made out of nothing. The objection is not of im- 
portance, in our view of the case ; but, as it bears 
upon the point we are discussing, we will notice it 
briefly. 

Bearing in mind the distinctions, already made, 
between spirit and matter, we shall have no diffi- 
culty, we think, in estimating, properly, the objec- 
tion referred to. In the shorter catechism, the 
question and answer, are as follows — Question— 
" What is the work of Creation ?" Answer — " The 
work of Creation, is God's making all things of 
nothing, by the word of His power, in the space of 
six days, and all very good," 

These expressions accord, precisely, with the 
Mosaic account, and announce the same grand 
truths. Let us change the phraseology a little, 
and we shall see how quick and how naturally 
the objection disappears : — 

"The work of creation is God's making all things 



THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



25 



of no thing" — no material thing — but u by the word 
of His power," etc. 

Now what are the real truths announced ? indi- 
rectly, that God is the author and creator of all 
things : directly, that God created all things out of 
no material thing ; but by -a necessary inference, 
out of immaterial, spiritual things, or substance— 
" by the word of His power." 

The Westminster Catechism — as a whole and es- 
pecially at its date, a most marvelous production — 
was formulated about the middle of the seventeenth 
century ; and as the age was comparatively rude 
and uncultured it may be fairly questioned, whether 
the distinction we have made, was recognized by 
the then Westminster divines, and so intended to 
be expressed. The phrase — "by the word of His 
power" — indicates such a possibility : but whether 
so or not, it accords with the Bible language, as it 
is in our present version ; and if explained as the 
latter now is, it will mislead no one. 

The expression — in the space of six days " — if 
it be taken, as once it was, in its restricted sense, is 
also open to objection : construed, however, as it is 
in modern times, all objection to it vanishes at 
once. 

But, further : — -is there any real occasion for an 
accommodation of ideas at this point ? We think 
not. God, it will be admitted, is a purely spirit- 
ual being ; having in Him, none of the properties 
of matter, as we conceive of them, though a posi- 
tive, distinct, personal entity. He and He alone, it 
will also be admitted, is eternal in existence : all 
other existences, material and immaterial, being 



26 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



finite, and brought into existence, by the omnipo- 
tent act and power of God. How, particularly, 
matter was originally created, no one knows ; no 
one can know. Was its creation, mediate or im- 
mediate — by a gradual process, or by an immediate 
fiat or exercise of power ? the latter probably ; but 
no one knows. We see no necessity for an accom- 
odation of ideas at this point. After the original 
creation of matter, we can see a reason for mediate 
processes : the physical universe is a revelation of 
God in part — a never-ending unfolding of the infin- 
ite to the finite : the latter never can fully compre- 
hend the former : wisely, God veils His power, as 
well as His face to finite observation. What mat- 
ter is, even, in its last analysis, we know not now — 
possibly, shall never know. Such knowledge could 
not benefit us, nor exalt our conceptions of God. 
There are some kinds of knowledge we had better 
not have : the tree of knowledge is not necessarily 
the tree of life. Mere knowledge will save no one : 
only faith and trust can save us — can give us true 
happiness, even. 

But again : — the physical universe is made up 
of countless myriads of solar systems — a literally 
endless series, possibly — each limited in time and 
space, impossible as it is for us to have any ade- 
quate conception of such a fact. Now, as these sys- 
tems are entirely independent of each other, 
apparently, and so widely separated as to be 
wholly unaffected by one another — each an astro- 
nomical unit, as it were — it is pertinent to enquire, 
as bearing upon the point we are considering, 
whether the matter of which they are composed, 



THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



2 7 



was created separately, or all at one time, so to 
speak. The answer to this question, to our mind, 
is neither difficult, nor doubtful. We reject the 
star-dust theory, intuitively involving, as it does, 
contradiction of an utterly irreconcilable character. 
Almighty power is in constant exercise, and it is 
entirely in harmony with all God's attributes, to ex- 
ert for creative, as well as other purposes. There is 
no more difficulty in admitting this, than there is in 
admitting that the earth revolves on its axis, by the 
immediate exercise of God's power. Why does the 
earth revolve upon its axis ? No astronomer ever 
answered that question, or ever will, save in one 
way, to-wit : — by the immediate, immanent exercise 
of Almighty power. The vagaries of so-called 
science, at this point, are of no account whatever : 
the gyroscope may give us faint hints of God's 
power, but it can do no more. Why begin creation 
at all, in time and space, if it is to cease ? If God 
reveals Himself thus to finite beings, why should he 
cease to do so ? Every consideration favors the 
idea of continuous creations — an endless series — . 
hereafter as heretofore : not out of star-dust ; not 
out of any material thing ; but by the immediate, 
immanent exercise of Almighty power. 

It has been suggested that material worlds and 
their environments, have been created out of 
an infinitesimal drop of God's own external sub- 
stance ; which having infinite powers of develop- 
ment, has produced the Universe about us. We do 
not see that anything, substantially, is gained by 
this view, as it is only another mode of character- 
izing Almighty power. In either case, materia! 



28 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



creations are emanations from God — created by 
His power — which is the only truth that vitally con- 
cerns us. We dislike compromises of any kind, in 
this direction ; finding it possible, for oneself, to be- 
lieve in the natural, only as we believe the super- 
natural. Creation must have a creator : — as 
well the matter of which creations are composed, 
as the various combinations that arise out of 
matter. 

But again -.—there are finite creations, that are 
not material — having in them none of the proper- 
ties, or relations of matter, as we conceive of it — 
such as the angels, good and bad ; such as human 
souls : upon the view that finite creations are not 
absolute, independent creations, how did they come 
into existence ? the very suggestion presents insup- 
erable difficulties to the mind. So far as human 
souls are concerned are they provided, breathed in- 
to or created for us, at birth or previous thereto ? or 
were they derived in some other way — having a pre- 
existence, according to the theory of some eminent 
divines, even of the present day, and finding rest at 
last, by mere accident, as it were ? What a labyrinth 
of difficulties we are involved in by this view ! the 
wisest men, not to say "way-faring men" and 
" fools," would be utterly lost in such an ocean of 
doubt as this. The way to Heaven is not thus 
beset ; the heavenly road is both straight and nar- 
row, and all may find their way there without 
difficulty, if they will. 

If the proposition referred to, were the least ob- 
jectionable one, in the Westminster Catechism, 
it might very well be left as it is ; as it is not, how- 



THE ORDER OF THE UNI r VERSE. 



2 9 



ever, the interests both of religion and the calvan- 
istic churches as well, will be subserved by recon- 
sideration and revision. Catechetical instruction, 
in brief and condensed form, especially for the 
young, is of the utmost consequence. Its dogmatic 
form, is, perhaps, not so essential, now, as once it 
was deemed ; but even this cannot, safely, be alto- 
gether omitted. Memorization, too, is very impor- 
tant ; and for this purpose, also, brief, condensed 
statements, are necessary. Let us revise, not set 
aside, this monument of Christian piety and wis- 
dom : as a deposit of Christian truth, other than 
the. Bible, it has few, if any, equals. 

In regard to the real difference, as well as 
proper distinction, between spirit and matter, noth- 
ing can be said more to the point, or more con- 
clusive, than the Bible furnishes us : the first verses 
of which read as follows : — 

" In the beginning God created the heaven and the 
earth. And the earth was without form and void ; 
and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And 
the Spirit of God moved upon the waters. And 
God said, let there be light and there was light. 
And God saw the light that it was good : and God 
divided the light from the darkness. And God 
called the light Day and the darkness he called 
Night. And the evening and the morning were the 
first day." 

Whatever interpretation may be given to this 
account, two conclusions from it are irresistible, to 
wit : — that " the heaven and the earth had a begin- 
ning ; and that God was their Creator : in other 
words — that time was when the matter of which the 



30 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HE II. 

earth is composed, including light, heat, electricity, 
magnetism, &c, was not in existence : and that 
God — a merely spiritual Being, having in Him 
none of the properties or characteristics of matter, 
spoke it into existence. 

But let us examine the subject a little in de- 
tail : — The words " the heaven and the earth," 
as here used, refer, clearly, to this earth alone, 
and its environment — the atmosphere, &c. ; and 
may mean the matter only out of which they were 
subsequently formed, or it may be an announce- 
ment, embracing the entire process of creation : 
the former is, perhaps, the better view. As thus 
originally created, " the earth was without form and 
void ; and darkness was upon the face of the 
deep :" that is — it was a mass of unorganized, 
formless, chaotic matter, without life or properties 
of any kind ; darkness being the symbol of its inert, 
lifeless character. Creations, in this sense, are go- 
ing on now ; the ovules of all vertebrates prior 
to fecundation, fully illustrating the fact. As 
originally created these vertebrates monads, as they 
may be called, are lifeless, formless ; springing into 
life and form, only, when they come within the in- 
fluence of the life-giving principle. 

In this lifeless, formless, chaotic condition of 
matter, the "Spirit of God moved" upon it, and 
God said—" let there be light, and there was light." 
What, now, is the meaning of the phrase, the 
" Spirit of God moved upon the waters" ? God the 
Father had created the lifeless matter of the earth, 
and now the Spirit of God — the Holy Ghost — 
moves upon it, to give it the life it needs, and must 



THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



31 



have, ere organic forms be possible. As a practi- 
cal exemplification of this moving of the "Spirit 
upon the waters," God said ''let there be light, and 
there was light." The word light, as here used, is 
generic, and includes light, heat, electricity, magne- 
tism, &c., which, though material in their nature, are 
so nearly allied to the immaterial, as to immediately 
suggest it : they are the connecting links, as it were, 
between matter and spirit ; between the material 
and .immaterial realms : standing related to the 
former, analogously, as the soul does to the body. 
Without these elements organic life of any kind, on 
the earth, would be impossible : without the soul 
the human body could not live ; as without the 
life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, the soul itself, 
is spiritually lifeless — dead. These elements, are 
material expressions of God's immanent power, 
wisdom and love ; the withdrawal of which would 
end all organized life on the earth, in a very brief 
space of time : they are material elements ; but 
they teach us, nevertheless, as mere inert matter 
cannot do, our dependence upon God, and His 
immanent protection and care : that we live, and 
move, and have our being in God. 

Having laid, thus, the foundations of all organic 
life, God proceeds, on the second day, to divide 
the waters from under the firmament from the 

waters which were above the firmament ; adding, 

' <_> 

now, another force to creation/to wit, the law oi 
gravitation, under the operation of which, at length, 
the earth, both land and sea, are to be separated, and 
at length, occupied by a fauna and flora coextensive 
with its entire surface, and finally by man. At the 



32 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



creation of the lower animals a special, physical, 
vital principle is added, bringing us a step nearer, 
perhaps, to the great fountain of life, God Himself. 
What this vital principal is, we can have no 
possible conception, save in its practical results : it 
is material, however, essentially, and passes out of 
existence, in the case of the lower animals, with the 
death of the body. 

At the close of the sixth day, when all creation, 
else, had been completed, God made man — His 
special image and representative on the earth — 
breathing into him a deathless principle, and consti- 
tuting him, thus, a living, never-dying soul. Now is 
added to creation a strictly immaterial principle ; this 
bring us into the immediate presence, as it were, of 
the God of the Universe Himself. What the soul 
is, in its essence, we do not know ; but though 
allied, for the present, to a material body, it has 
none of the properties of matter, and can in no 
sense be considered as such. Matter dies ; spirit 
never dies : matter is inert, lifeless, unintelligent, 
irresponsible ; spirit is life-intelligent, responsible 
life : the body dies ; the soul lives forever : a posi- 
tive entity — an immaterial, spiritual being — as God 
Himself is ; as the angels — His messengers — are ; 
and, sad to say, as the Devil and his angels — his 
messengers- — are. 

Thus far we have considered the physical order 
of the Universe, only ; indicating it merely in out- 
line, with incidental references, only, to the moral 
order : some details of the system will be given in 
the ensuing chapter. • 



THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



33 



The Moral Order. 

The order of the Universe includes a moral as 
well as a physical order ; the earth being inhabited 
by finite, intelligent beings, capable of distinguish- 
ing between right and wrong, as an indication of 
its character. 

Good and evil are the foundations of the moral 
order ; free agency, vicariousness, and immanency, 
its fundamental factors. God has established His 
government on this basis, and mankind are created 
to correspond to it ; all their intuitions and reason- 
ing powers are adjusted to it. As the moral order 
can be deranged by transgression, a vicarious prin- 
ciple is involved in it, so that restoration, according 
to expiatory conditions, may be effected. 

With respect to both the physical and moral 
orders, general laws, so to speak, are provided for 
them ; the former obeying, of necessity ; the latter 
as prompted thereto, in the exercise of uncontrolled 
volition. Where sin has supervened, there is a 
natural tendency to evil ; which, unrestrained by 
grace, according to the moral order to this end, re- 
sults in spiritual death. Expiation has been provi- 
ded, and thus all may be saved if they will ; a 
voluntary acceptance being all that is required. 
Powerful motives to obedience are held out to all ; 
but these may be rejected, by a perverse will. The 
sanctions of rewards and punishments, here and 
hereafter, have been added ; and as salvation has 
been provided for all, the lost are without excuse. 



34 RETRIBUTION ; OR BE A VEN AND HELL. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE PHYSICAL ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



The physical order involves the material Uni- 
verse, including therein not only our solar or planet- 
ary system, but, as already seen, untold myriads of 
similar systems, scattered through the boundless 
entities of space. Let us endeavor to get an idea 
of our own system and the space it occupies, that 
we may, also, get some hint, as it were, of the vast 
problem before us. 

The planet Neptune, at present considered the out- 
ermost one of our systems, is estimated to be about 
2,850,000,000 miles from the sun : assuming the 
correctness of this estimate, the diameter of its orbit 
around the sun, would be 5,700,000,000 miles; its 
orbital circumference, about 17,100,000,000 miles. 

Of course the human mind can have no adequate 
conception of such distances as these, but the idea 
we do have : in the present state of astronomical 
science there is no reason to question their proxi- 
mate exactness 

Any attempt to realize these distances, must pro- 
ceed from such comparatively definite ideas as we 
have of distances on this earth. Astronomers 
claim something more than this, and doubtless, 
have it ; but even they, can have but proximate 
conceptions, of such really inconceivable spaces. 



THE PHYSICAL ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



Time affords a means of comprehending dis- 
tances, somewhat ; let us bring this test to our 
aid : — a railroad train, running forty miles an 
hour — more than the average of our fastest trains — 
running night and day, without stops of any kind, 
to pass over a distance equal to that of the diame- 
ter of the orbit of the planet Neptune, would 
require more than sixteen thousand two hundred 
and sixty-seven years of time : a period nearly three 
times as great as that which has elapsed since the 
earth, according to the common understanding, was 
first inhabited by man. To pass over a distance, 
equal to its orbital circumference, would require, at 
the same rate of speed, more than forty-eight, thou- 
sand years : it fatigues the mind to think of such 
eons of time. 

Within the enormous space thus indicated, the 
various other planets of our solar system are found 
each kept in their relative positions, like their more 
distant neighbor, by the great law of gravitation, 
(which, so far as our system is concerned, has its 
centre in the sun) and by centrifugal force ; 
enigmas past all finite comprension, despite the 
witless vagaries of modern scientists. 

The number of the planets, according to our pres- 
ent knowledge, including Neptuile, already referred 
to, and not including the inferior planets or asteroids, 
as they are sometimes called, is eight ; the names 
of which, in the order of their distances from the 
sun, are as follows : — Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, 
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. 

Mercury — in mythology the messenger and in- 
terpreter of the Gods ; the god, also, of eloquence 



36 



RETRIBUTION; OR BE A VEN AND HELL, 



and commerce ; the Hermes of the Greeks — the 
planet nearest the sun, and for that reason generally 
unobservable by the naked eye, is supposed to be 
a little more than three thousand miles in diame- 
ter ; revolving around that luminary in about 
eighty-eight days of our time ; its mean distance 
from the sun about thirty-seven million miles. It 
varies constitutionally from the earth, as all the rest 
of the planets do, and, if inhabited, must, therefore, 
be by beings capable of living under conditions, 
entirely different from such as prevail on the earth. 
It would be interesting to note these differences in 
passing, as with respect to the physical order, some 
of them are intensely interesting, as well as sugges- 
tive : the occasion, however, does not permit. 

Next, in the order mentioned, is the planet 
Venus — in mythology the goddess of beauty and 
love. Its distance from the sun is about sixty- 
eight million miles ; the diameter of its orbit, one 
hundred and thirty-six million miles ; its diameter, 
proper, about seven thousand seven hundred miles ; 
and its period of revolution round the sun — its 
year — about two hundred and twenty-four days. 
This planet, being between us and the sun, there 
are times when it is very brilliant indeed ; in some 
instances, casting a shadow at night ; and, at times 
visible to the naked eye, in the daytime. Because 
of its brilliancy it was called by the ancients, as the 
morning star, Lucifer ; and as the evening star, Hes- 
perus : for its beauty it is rightly named. 

The Earth, next in order, is about eight thou- 
sand miles in diameter ; and twenty-five thou- 
sand miles in circumference. Its mean distance 



THE PHYSICAL ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



37 



from the sun is ninety-five million miles ; the 
diameter of its orbit, one hundred and ninety mil- 
lion miles ; its year, three hundred sixty-five days, 
five hours, and forty-nine minutes. It is a com- 
fortable planet to live on, when the elements 
do not get in too fervent a passion ; and despite its 
sin-scarred condition, it contains within itself the 
germs of a new life ; which, fructified by the power 
and love of God, shall ripen into Edenic beauty. 

Mars — in mythology the god of war — next out- 
wardly, has a diameter only about half that of the 
earth ; a circumference of relative dimensions ; a 
mean distance from the sun of about one hundred 
forty-two million miles ; and a diameter of orbit 
around the sun, of two hundred and eighty-four 
million miles : its year is not quite as long again 
as that of our earth. The fiery red color of this 
planet, suggests constitutional differences of a some- 
what radical nature. Some of the ancients at- 
tributed to him, as the god of war, rather unamiable 
qualities, but a more lenient judgment prevails, in 
modern times. Some, will have it also that he was 
over-fond of then ectar of the gods ; but though 
his color lends encouragement to the imputation, 
we believe there is no just ground for it. Inebriety 
is disgraceful enough to be confined to at least one 
planet. Observation and experience on this earth 
lead us to hope that it does not prevail elsewhere. 

Jupiter — the Supreme Deity of the Greeks and 
Romans, variously otherwise named — the largest 
planet of our system ; remarkable, also, for its 
brightness; is about eighty-nine thousand miles in 
diameter ; its distance from the sun, four hundred 



38 RETRIBUTION y OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



and ninety million miles ; the diameter of its orbit, 
nine hundred and eighty million miles ; and its revo- 
lution round the sun — its year — a little less than 
twelve of our years. The ancients regard Jupiter 
as an over-bearing and tyrannical deity ; his chief 
distinction being, that he was more cunning, more 
unscrupulous, and powerful than all the rest. His 
worship, was a deprecation of evil, with which he 
constantly menaced the world : a worship of love — 
of good — is unknown to any ancient mythology. 

Saturn — -in mythology one of the oldest and prin- 
cipal deities, the son of Coslus and Terra — Heaven 
and Earth — the father of Jupiter, the Kronos of 
the Greeks — next in magnitude of Jupiter, is seven- 
ty-nine thousand miles in diameter ; is nearly nine 
hundred million miles from the sun ; has an orbit 
round the sun of about one thousand eirfit hun- 
dred million miles in diameter ; and requires nearly 
twenty-nine and a half years for a single revolution. 
The ancients regarded the age or reign of Saturn, 
as a very mild as well as wise one ; whence arose 
the idea of the golden age — distinguished for purity, 
integrity,, and simplicity. The monotheistic idea, 
found little support then, and hence there was a 
constant struggle between the mythical deities for 
supremacy ; stopping short of no enormity, what- 
ever, in the accomplishment of their purposes. The 
feasts of Saturn, held in December, developed, at 
length, into unrestrained license and merriment, 
passing by the name of Saturnalia. 

Uranus — formerly called Herschel, in honor of 
the oreat astronomer of that name ; or Geormum 
Sidus, in honor of George the III of England ; a 



THE PHYSICAL ORDER OE THE UNIVERSE. 



39 



word of Grseco-Latin origin, meaning heaven — is 
about one thousand eight hundred million miles 
from the sun ; the diameter of its orbit about three 
thousand six hundred million miles ; its own diame- 
ter about thirty-five thousand miles; and revolves 
around the sun once in nearly eighty-four of our 
years. 

Neptune — in mythology the god of the ocean ; 
discovered September 23, 1846, by Galle of Berlin, 
from the wonderful calculations of Le Verrier of 
France — the eighth and outermost of our solar or 
planetary system, some particulars of which have 
been noticed, has a diameter of about thirty-five 
thousand miles ; is mean distant from the sun, two 
thousand eight hundred and fifty million miles ; and 
requires a period of one hundred and sixty-eight of 
our years, for a single revolution round the sun. 

Intending an outline, merely, of our solar system, 
no special notice need be taken of the inferior 
planets, or asteroids, as they are sometimes called ; 
nor of the satellites or moons of the larger planets ; 
nor of those stellar wanderers, the comets. J 

The Sun, as the centre of this magnificent inter- 
stellar system, by its immensity controlling all the 
planets, in their several orbits, with mathematical 
precision ; and giving light and heat to all, by vir- 
tue of its special constitution, has a diameter, ac- 
cording to Professor Loomis of Yale College, of 
eight hundred and eight-eighty thousand eight hun- 
dred and twelve miles — more than three times that 
of the diameters of all the planets, added together. 
The centripetal and centrifugal forces considered, 
little as we really know of them except in their 



4-0 RETRIBUTION OR HE A VEN AND HERE 



results, the special relations of the system are easi- 
ly apprehended. 

Of the system thus outlined, we have no certain 
knowledge that any of the planets, except the earth, 
are inhabited. Analogy would indicate that some 
of them are ; but, if so, the conditions of existence, 
as heretofore observed, must vary widely from our 
own — widely from each other. Intense heat, pre- 
sumably, prevails on some ; intense cold on others : 
this does not, indeed, preclude inhabitation, as 
the resources of the Creator are infinite in this, as in 
all other directions. Great extremes of heat and 
cold are found upon our own planet, while almost no 
part of it, is entirely uninhabited. Both the fauna 
and the flora of the earth are adapted to all lati- 
tudes, the various tribes of which flourish best in 
their climatic habitats. Similar adaptations may 
exist on some or all the other planets : we can con- 
ceive of an infinite variety in this respect ; such, 
indeed, as might be expected at the hands of a 
Being of infinite resources. 

For the purpose we have in view — a mere illus- 
tration of the physical order of the Universe — we 
need not go into details with respect to the fauna 
or flora of the earth ; nor any other of its physical 
conditions or relations : they are known to every- 
one. It is sufficient, that our planet is part of a 
great integral system — the latter one of uncounted 
myriads in number — devised by an Omniscient 
Creator for the display of His power of glory. 
That He would do this in accordance with His own 
attributes, securing, thus, the best interests of all 
His finite creatures, accountable and unaccountable, 



THE PHYSICAL ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 41 

is as certain as that He is an infinitely holy, just, 
wise, and good Being. 

The solar system thus outlined, despite its im- 
mensity, compared with the visible universe, is but 
a point in space : compared with the invisible uni- 
verse, such as analogy teaches us must exist, its 
microscopic character cannot be estimated. As- 
tronomers now agree, that the fixed stars, so called, 
with which the entire heavens are so thickly stud- 
ded, are all central suns of other systems ; each 
with its array of planets, asteroids, satellites and 
comets ; occupying a space, the equal, perhaps, of 
our own ; all whirling in their circles, far removed 
from each other, and with absolute precision and 
safety. No known instruments can measure these 
inconceivable spaces ; no mathematical data are 
available to this end : there they are, in endless pro- 
fusion, and the human mind can only wonder and 
adore. That they are substantially like our own 
there is no occasion to doubt : like our solar 
system they are, probably, inhabited, in whole or in 
part, by rational, accountable beings ; and occupied 
by a fauna and flora, like, or analagous to ours. 

To suppose otherwise, considering the recent 
origin of our earth or solar system, is, to say, as 
heretofore stated, that prior to the latter period, 
however long it may be, God had remained idle, as 
it were, from all eternity, with no society but that 
of Himself, and doing" nothing; throughout His vast 
dominions. This may indeed be so, since we are 
not to prescribe limitations to the Almighty, as it is 
certain we cannot understand the conditions of His 
existence ; but it is not what appears to be His econ- 



42 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



omy in the Universe, and so we intuitively reject 
it. He has created untold systems such as ours, 
in myriad ages past, as modern science fully assures 
us, and why should He not have done so to all 
eternity. Space is absolutely boundless ; time, as 
we apprehend it, never had a beginning — never will 
have an end ; God is eternal in being- and attri- 

7 o 

butes ; what difficulty, then, in conceiving that this 
grand process of creation, has been going on for- 
ever ? The limitations of our mental conceptions, 
cannot, here, be taken as the measure of our ideas 
or conclusions — we are finite, and the finite cannot 
fully comprehend the infinite : rather, at this point, 
must we consult our intuitions ; those more immedi- 
ate impressions of the divine image upon human 
souls. These assure us, that ever, as now, God has 
been peopling the spates with finite intelligences, 
and providing suitable homes for them, as loving 
fathers on the earth are so c-lad £ 0 ^ 0 f or t ] le little 

o 

ones God brings to their embraces. 

In considering the physical order of the Universe, 
thus defined, the question fairly arises — are habita- 
ble olanets, besides the one on which we live, in- 
volved in moral evil ? The answer to this question, 
also, must be derived, largely, from what we know 
of God's providence with regard to the earth. 

Both revelation, and the attributes of God, as- 
sure us that Adam and Eve were created sinless ; 
and that the earth — their intended home — was 
adapted to their condition. What, indeed, is meant 
by the phrase — Garden of Eden ? Simply, that as 
the earth Avas created, it was adapted to innocent, 
sinless beings. Had there been no sin, the earth 



THE PHYSICAL ORDER OF THE UN VI 'ERSE. 



43 



would have remained as God created it : labor 
would have been a pleasure, not a sorrow ; thorns 
and thistles would not have grown upon it ; but 
only such flora as would have been useful to an in- 
telligent, innocent race : then, as now, children, 
doubtless, would have been born ; but without pain 
and sorrow. All original creations must have been 
of this character: God is infinitely wise, powerful, 
just, and good ; He cannot do or create evil ; He 
permits it, only. 

Whether sin has fallen upon all other inhabited 
worlds or not we cannot know. The Bible says 
there are " angels that kept not their first estate" ; 
implying, as it, also, directly teaches, that there are 
some that have kept their first, or sinless state : the 
analogy may hold good with respect to some created 
worlds. It is not important, however, that we 
should know : we allude to it merely to indicate the 
possibilities of the physical order of the Universe. 

The inquiry further arises, and very properly so, 
too, what has all this to do with Heaven and Hell ? 
An indication of the answer may be seen in the re- 
ference we have made to the present condition of 
our earth re-adapted by God, to a fallen, sinful 
race. 

As has already been stated, God reveals Himself 
to finite intelligent beings, in part through the 
material Universe : there is a relation, therefore, so 
far as finite comprehension is concerned, between 
the supernatural and the natural ; between the soul 
and the body. There is, perhaps, no necessary 
connection between them ; but God has chosen this 
method of manifestation. As the body is the im- 



44 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HE LI. 



mediate temple or home of the soul, adapted to its 
moral condition ; so all worlds are adapted to 
the condition of the finite beings that inhabit 
them, whether sinless or otherwise. We see, then, 
that material relations, must enter into all our con- 
ceptions of Heaven and Hell : they are of a subor- 
dinate character ; but they cannot be disregarded 
wholly. 

The human body, moreover, is involved in the 
consequences of sin : it is part of the physical order 
of our earth ; and so, a part of the physical order of 
the Universe. Physical pain, suffering and sorrow, 
are in the world, and characterize every being in it : 
these are the penalties as well as results of sin. To 
escape from them, in this life, is impossible ; will 
they not continue, in the life to come, unless re- 
lieved by the moral economy of God established 
for that purpose ? We repeat : — Heaven and Hell 
are not moral conditions, alone ; but are identified 
with the physical order of the Universe, as well. 



THE MORAL ORDER OF THE UNI VERS!,. 



45 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE MORAL ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



We come, now, to consider, more directly, the 
moral order of the Universe ; using the term, moral, 
to distinguish between the supernatural and the 
natural, and to include all the phenomena of the 
Universe, not of an objective or material character ; 
specially to include the soul and all its exercises, 
affections, and repulsions. We desire this to be 
borne in mind, as the word, in later usage, has 
come to have a restricted meaning, being limited to' 
ethics largely : it will facilitate inquiry, to use it in 
its wider sense. 

Here, also, it does not comport with the single 
object w r e have in view, to enter largely into the 
discussion of the many metaphysical quesions, 
mooted in the past, with respect to this great, and, 
it must be admitted, intricate subject; much less 
shall we indulge in any casuistry in regard to it. 

We write for the thoughtful and considerate ; 
for those who believe in a Supreme Being, and His 
moral government of the Universe ; for those who 
feel their responsibility to such a Being ; for those 
who desire to understand, somewhat, if they may not 
fully apprehend, the moral order He has establish- 
ed, so that they may be conformed to it We 



4 6 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



recognize, also, how natural it is for the human 
mind to doubt— to doubt seriously and depreca- 
tingly : to a degree this is characteristic of all 
minds, however serious or inquiring. We write 
for such, among which we class ourselves, to relieve 
doubt ; to inspire hope and confidence. We be- 
lieve that the moral order is such, that doubt may 
be relieved ; fear translated into trust : we would 
aid in such an inestimable transition. 

We have considered the physical order of the 
Universe first, not because it is first either in time 
or importance ; but because, coming somewhat 
within the range of the senses, it is of more imme- 
diate comprehension : we are, thus, the better 
prepared to deal with the great subject we have in 
hand ; and to accept its wonderful conclusions. 
The material universe, as we have seen, is simply 
one of the methods by which the Supreme Being 
has chosen to manifest Himself to finite, intelligent, 
creatures — the children of His power and love. 
We see God, in part, if not primarily, in and 
through His works. We comprehend, possibly, 
neither His existence nor our own, in any other 
way : the Bible is rich with this thought ; our in- 
tuitions confirm it. 

The moral order of the Universe, as we have also 
seen, involves two principles — good and evil — as its 
essential foundations ; with free agency, vicarious- 
ness, and immanency, as its factors : let us en- 
deavor to establish these positions. 

God is the author of the moral order ; a reverent 
examination of His character and attributes, there- 
fore, will give us all the satisfaction we need. Let 



THE MORAL ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



47 



us see, first, what the Bible says on the subject : — 

In the third chapter of Genesis, immediately after 
the fall, and before the expulsion, God speaks, as 
follows : — 

''And the Lord God said, behold the man is be- 
come as one of us, to know good and evil ; and 
now lest he put forth his hand," etc. 

Note the expression ''is become as one of us, to 
know good and evil." What is the real meaning of 
this ? What indeed can it be, but that, by God's 
own affirmation, good and evil are elements of His 
own nature ; the former as a concrete fact— the ab- 
solute rule of all His providence in the Universe ; 
the latter as a possibility, due to the fact of His un- 
qualified free agency ? What can it mean, but that 
these principles are eternal in themselves, and con- 
stitute, in His inscrutable providence, the moral 
foundations of the Universe ? 

To relieve any undue solicitude that may be felt at 
this point, we hasten to observe — that to know evil, 
merely, is not at all sinful. We must distinguish 
between evil as a principle, and sin as the practical 
result of evil : it is only when evil is intended, or 
put in practice, that it becomes sin. God knows 
evil, but he never intends or does evil : evil is a 
part of the moral order of the Universe ; but it only 
becomes sin when an accountable, free moral being 
intends it, or puts it in practice. Is not this dis- 
tinction simple, plain ? We are intelligent thinking 
beings : we cannot help our thoughts ; it is not 
best we should. Evil is, apparently, a discipline to 
good — the contrast to the latter by which, in part 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



at least, we know it : virtue consists in resisting 
evil, as well as the practice of good. 

God might, we suppose, have arranged the moral 
order differently ; but He has not seen fit to do it : 
blessed provision — that we are not accountable for 
our thoughts, merely ; if we were, how could any- 
one be saved ? W e may rest in the assurance, 
that God is just, as well as good ; and that it would 
ill comport with this element of His character, to 
punish His weak and erring children, for what they 
could not help. 

So far as the Bible is concerned, the passage we 
have quoted is only one of many, bearing upon the 
same point : everywhere it is assumed ; in one pas- 
sage God being represented as creating evil — that 
is, creating in the sense of permitting it — constitu- 
ting it a part of the moral order of the Universe — 
as involved in His moral crovernment. 

But let us look at the matter in a historical light, 
and aside from the Bible : — Sin, in the sense of 
a terrible disorder in the natural world, as well 
as the inner world of consciousness, is absolutely 
universal ; not an exemption from it can be found : 
thorns and thistles, overwhelming and destructive 
storms, the lightning and the earthquake, are all 
evidences of a sin-cursed earth : disease, death and 
destructive appetites and passions of all animated 
creation, man included, witness to a universal 
calamity to all — to the existence of evil in its more 
violent, practical forms. Man, even in his best es- 
tate, is sinful by nature ; and irremediably so, except 
as redeemed by grace, according to the moral order 
established for this purpose. 



THE MORAL ORDER OE THE UNIVERSE. 



49 



We have intimated that the disorder of sin 
reaches the inner world of consciousness, as well as 
the objective world in which we live. The soul is 
the real thinking part of man ; as distinct from the 
body, as an entity, as God is from the material uni- 
verse He has created. The-body was originally in- 
tended, as the permanent home or temple of the 
soul : this is the direct teaching of the Bible, as it 
is of our deepest intuitions. We cannot well rea- 
son about it ; but we can state it, and find it easy to 
accept it, as merely beyond, not at variance with 
reason. 

The soul is the special image of God in man, and 
as such God has m ven it a form as well as attri- 
butes ; which though imperfection, because of sin, 
is stamped upon it, He has directed us to think of, 
as analogous to the one he has chosen to reveal 
Himself to us in. The biblical account of this is 
concisely stated in Genesis i : 27, as follows : 

" So God created man in His own image, in the 
imaore of God created He him ; male and female 
created He them." 

This language is predicable, only, of man in his 
dual nature — body and soul — and not of the soul or 
moral image only. 

As the material Universe, as comprehended by 
finite minds, is a revelation of God, in part : so the 
human body is a revelation of God, in part, as 
comprehended by the soul. We may not limit 
God, to such a revelation of Himself as this ; as it 
may well be that on other planets, or in other sys- 
tems, He has revealed Himself in other modes or 
forms : what is now contended for, is, that on this 



50 RETRIBUTION OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 

earth, God has revealed Himself in this special 
manner. It is as if He had said to human be- 
ings on the earth, I wish you to think of me in this 
form ; and in order that you shall do so, I stamp 
an intuition to that effect, upon your minds and 
hearts ; and will send my only son to you, made in 
all respects in my own likeness — the express image 
of my person — and will so arrange your intuitions — 
your necessary conceptions of me — that you shall 
be certain to do so. The soul, then, is the real 
man — the real entity; the body nothing but the 
method of its manifestation, on this earth— its 
house to live in ; as it should be, as God intended, 
the temple, also, of the Holy Ghost. 

There are many other passages of the Bible, 
which, rightly interpreted, confirm this view ; but 
the limits we have prescribed to ourself, will not 
permit us to notice them. We need hardly say, 
that the New Testament, especially, is rich with 
these suggestions : everywhere the soul is spoken of 
as the important part of man ; everywhere it is 
alluded to, in this distinct, personal form. God and 
angels appear in human form to confirm it ; and, at 
length, the Son of. God, Himself, appears upon the 
earth — appears in human form — after as well as be- 
fore the resurrection, to remove all doubt about it. 
Let us believe, then, that our souls are not only 
positive entities, but that they have the forms our 
bodies have ; and though our outward man, because 
of sin, will perish, our precious souls — our immortal 
spiritual bodies — originally the unperverted image 
of our Heavenly Father, shall live forever : in holi- 
ness and happiness if redeemed by grace ; but — sad 



THE MORAL, ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



to say — in sin and suffering, if proffered grace be 
rejected. 

We are thus particular, at this point, because many, 
very many, are in the painful uncertainty, not merely 
as to the existence of the soul ; but, also, as to its 
nature and attributes : they .fear and tremble be- 
cause of doubt. We have an abiding confidence, 
that the view we take, is the correct one ; and that 
it is confirmed by scripture, reason, and intuition. 
Much will be gained to the cause of religion, if it 
should be cordially accepted by the Christian 
world : anxieties, doubts, and fears, would thus be 
immenselv relieved ; and a serious stumbling-block 
would be removed out of the way. 

The soul, thus defined — the spiritual, rational, 
and immortal part of man, which distinguishes him 
from the brutes ; that part which enables him to 
think and reason — is endowed with the attributes- 
analogous to those of his Creator ; suited to his 
finite condition, and to all purposes of his being. 
God has not a single attribute, the ima^e of 
which is not expressed in man. As originally con- 
stituted, these attributes were in far more perfect 
exercise than now ; but not one of them has been 
destroyed. Sin has wrought its fearful work upon 
them ; but they all remain, and, by and by, in all 
cases where the redeeming blood of Christ is 
applied, they will be restored to their fullest, and 
more than fullest, integrity ; secure in their exalted 
state, through the redemption that has been pur- 
chased for them. 

We repeat : — the attributes of God are, each and 
all, expressed in man — the moral constitution of 



52 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



both the same — differing; in degree, not in character. 
Man, the finite, because of his adaptation to the 
material world — the physical order — has, in addi- 
tion, appetites and passions ; but these are the 
attributes of the body, not of the soul, and dis- 
appear when the body dies. The soul, with all its 
God-like powers, lives on — lives ever : in holiness 
and happiness, if redeemed by grace ; in sin and 
suffering, if unredeemed. 

We have stated that the moral order of the Uni- 
verse involves the principles of both good and evil. 
Why the latter should have been permitted, we do 
not know ; possibly, never shall know. We realize 
that sin is a great calamity ; and that God, in ac- 
cordance with His character, must hate it ; but what 
its mission in the Universe is, we may not fully un- 
derstand. This we see : that evil, as involved in 
the moral order, is not sin ; it is, as heretofore said, 
only when evil is intended, or put in practice, by 
accountable beings, that it becomes sin. Evil is 
part of the moral order ; but it is there, in part at 
least, as a warning against transgression : what 
other purposes it serves, in the moral economy of 
the Universe, eternity, alone, can disclose. 

There may be other worlds, in which the moral 
order, as God established it, has never been disturb- 
ed : transgression forbidden to all, may not have 
occurred in some. From what we know of the 
heavenly world, this is probably so : Heaven, as we 
now conceive it, is a place of sinlessness- — a condi- 
tion of sinlessness — if that be the better term. Part 
of the angels fell, nevertheless, which indicates that 
the moral order is universal : that the abode of the 



THE MORAL ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



53 



angels may be invaded by sin, as well as other 
worlds. 

As already intimated, the redemptive economy, is 
part of the moral order of the Universe ; not merely 
of that of this earth, as commonly apprehended. 
Evil, as a principle, and sin, as a possibility, arc in- 
volved in the moral order ; and as God's omni- 
science forecasted, that sin, in instances at least, 
would supervene, a provision to redeem and save 
the fallen, was as certain to be made, as that the 
moral order is founded in infinite love. To secure 
such a result, such a display of divine affection 
must be made, as will reach the uttermost bound- 
aries of the moral Universe ; embracing everv finite, 
accountable, being in it, and carrying satisfaction to 
all. 

So far as this earth is concerned, revelation tells 
us how this was done : the grand story of the 
Cross, in its effective simplicity, reveals it to all. 
God so loved the world, as to give His only Son, to 
die for, and so to redeem and save it. Repentance 
and faith, are its only conditions : all may be saved, 
if they will ; not, however, against their will. Sin 
being an occurrence in the moral realm, moral forces, 
only, can be resorted to, to remedy it. Compulsion 
is at variance with the moral order : no one, we re- 
peat, can be saved against his will. 

Why so great a sacrifice was necessary, or what 
the philosophy involved, so to speak, we ma)* not 
fully understand : this much is apparent : — that as 
evil, as a principle, and sin, as a possibility, are in- 
volved in the moral order, a God of infinite per- 
fections would so arrange, as that truly penitent 



54 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND NEIL. 



transgressors, should, by complying with the re- 
quirements to that end, be relieved of the penalties 
of transgression, and restored to His favor. God 
will have all men to repent, and has made suitable 
provisions to that end. 

How the vicarious principle is developed, practi- 
cally, in other worlds, we have no means of know- 
ing. We have reason to believe that the physical 
order of other worlds, differs from our own : this 
must certainly be true of the other members of our 
planetary system, and may be so of other systems. 
The astronomical unit, so to speak, is a solar sys- 
tem, of which our own is a sample. Countless 
myriads of other systems exist ; are they alike ? or 
do they differ, materially ? the latter, probably, 
Whatever diversity may exist in the physical order, 
the absolute unity of the moral order cannot be 
doubted. It is reverent, therefore, to say, with re- 
spect to the redemptive economy, that similar or 
analogous displays of divine love and glory, have 
been, and will continue to be made, in all worlds 
heretofore created, or hereafter to be created, where 
transgression of the moral order occurs — where 
evil, as a principle, has been, or shall be, developed 
into sin. 

Is it objected that this would require the sacrifice 
upon the cross, in the case of every world where sin 
exists ? not necessarily this ; though we can conceive 
of no radical objection to it. Our sensuousness 
must not be the rule of judgment in this respect : 
we are speaking of transactions in the moral realm, 
and infinite requirements are demanded. The 
vicarious principle is cosmic in its very nature ; its 



THE MORAL ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. 



application as wide as the Universe itself : where 
transgression has taken place, there it is called into 
exercise. 

In some way, probably, it affects the angelic con- 
stitution, as well as our own, and that of other 
finite beings : the whole moral order, as based up- 
on evil as a principle, and sin as a possibility, must 
be covered by it ; God will be satisfied with nothing 
less. 

Did time permit, it would be interesting to 
trace, with some care, the development of the 
vicarious principle in the natural world : we can 
allude to it, merely. Let it be borne in mind, that 
expiation is always accomplished, through suffering 
and death : one or both. Among the lower ani- 
mals, many destroy and live upon each other ; 
being utterly unable to preserve life in any other 
way: individuals of one race die to preserve an- 
other. Each gives birth to its kind, and dies, at 
length, that the species may be continued. No one of 
the lower orders, as a rule, preys upon its own kind, 
for purposes of food ; were this so races would soon 
become extinct, as the young would be utterly de- 
fenceless : animal instincts are wisely directed in 
this respect. Considering the amazing fecundity 
of some of the lower animals, these destructive ar- 
rangements are of the utmost moment. Without 
them, the land would be deluged and the sea would 
be choked with animal life. Many of the lower an- 
imals, also, destroy and live upon vegetable life ; 
being able to preserve themselves in no other \\ a\ : 
notably is this the case, with all the land animals re- 
quired for man's subsistence. With the fish of the 



56 RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



sea, it is otherwise somewhat, the destruction there 
being simply amazing. 

Man destroys and lives upon both animal and 
vegetable life : he can live, only, by destroying life 
of some kind. Woman travails in pain, to preserve 
the race : both man and woman dying, at length, in 
order that the race may have room to live. 

Notice, further, how the inferior animals, not 
needed for the support of man, are disappearing 
from the surface of the earth : the races needed by 
man, are preserved by his intelligence ; all otners 
give way, slowly, to his needs. This is true, es- 
pecially, of the destructive animals ; all which are 
steadily disappearing : but for this, the earth would 
be overrun by the lower animals, and man would 
disappear. The vicarious principle, we repeat, 
is cosmic, affecting both the physical and moral 
realms. 



FREE AGENCY. 



57 



CHAPTER V. 



FREE AGENCY. 



Having outlined thus, merely, the moral order of 
the Universe, in its more general features, we are 
brought, by easy transition, to consider some of its 
elements, in a more direct manner. The funda- 
mental factor, so to speak, of the moral order, is 
free agency ; its importance will be apparent as we 
proceed. 

We have already stated, that the attributes of 
God are each and all expressed in man ; as they 
must be in all finite accountable beings. 

Free agency, absolute and unqualified, is, neces- 
sarily, an attribute of God : He could not be infinite 
in His attributes, if this were not so ; He could 
not, according to our conceptions of Him, be God — 
the Supreme Being — if this were not so. 

God is the Creator of all things: by His power 
and will they exist ; by His power and will they are 
upheld : this is confirmed, both by revelation and 
reason. Besides the account we have of creation, 
in Genesis, the Bible affirms, in the first chapter of 
St. John's gospel, that "all things were made by 
Him" — the word — Christ or God — and that " with- 
out Him was not anything made that was made : " 
many other passages, affirm or imply it. God, 



58 



RETRIBUTION j OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



then, is the author of all worlds, by the free and un- 
trammeled exercise of His own will. 

Omniscient as well as omnipotent, He is the au- 
thor of the moral Universe, also, founding it, 
deeply and securely, upon His own attributes. 
Self-existent, and eternal, and absolutely holy in 
every expression of His character, the unqualified 
freedom of His will, is a necessary inference of both 
reason and intuition : we cannot resist the postulate 
of the world. He is amenable to no tribunal ; no 
power is above His own ; He is accountable to 
Himself alone. Such an untrammeled power as 
this, is necessary to the existence as well as pre- 
servation of the Universe : so vast and intricate 
a problem, demands both infinite power and wis- 
dom. If they be infinite, we repeat, they are un- 
restrained — absolute : the adjustments of the Uni- 
verse attest the fact. 

The outlying systems of the stellar universe, out- 
numbering the power of all mathematical calculation, 
moving in their amazing cycles, with unerring pre- 
cision, attest, in a most remarkable manner, the in- 
finite knowledge, power, and wisdom of God ; while 
the adjustments of the moral universe, so far as 
they come within finite comprehension, accomplish 
a like result. 

In order to define this principle — free agency — 
more clearly, as predicated of the Almighty, let us 
examine it a little closely. 

If God be an absolute free accent, as both the 
physical and moral universe require, then it follows, 
with respect to the latter, that He has the power 
to sin. To some, this will be a startling proposi- 



FREE AGENCY. 



59 



tion ; involving, as it seems to do, the possible de- 
rangement of the moral order of the Univ< 
itself. It is important, however, when we consider 
that God has adjusted the moral Universe, which 
is a revelation of Himself, so that sin is possible. 

But is there any real danger, at this point ? If 
the moral Universe, like the physical, be a revela- 
tion of God to His intelligent creatures ; and if He 
be infinitely wise, holy, just, and good ; is there any 
danger that He will overthrow His Kingdom, or 
suffer even its derangement, by any direct act 
of His own? Evil is, indeed, involved in the 
moral order ; but sin is not, save as a possibility. 
Absolute free agency, of course, involves the power 
to sin ; sin, then, as a possibility, is involved in the 
moral order, from God down to the humblest ac- 
countable being, in all the Universe ; from, and to, 
all eternity. 

But, again : — God being infinite in power and 
wisdom, and sin being at variance with the interests 
of His Kingdom, both His power and wisdom, with 
respect to Himself, will be exerted, so to speak, to 
prevent it, if necessary. But even this accomoda- 
tion of ideas, so far as God is concerned, is un- 
necessary, to solve this problem ; the infinite wisdom 
and goodness of God assuring us, that while He 
has the power to sin, He never has the will to 
sin. Sin is opposed to His nature, wholly ; His 
opposition to it is such that He hates it : the power 
to sin, and the will to sin, are entirely different 
things. Many think of these terms — power and 
will — as convertible ; but this is a grave mistake : the 
power to do a thing, by no means involves the will 



6o RETRIBUTION ; OR BE A VEN AND HELL. 



to do it. Power, as such, no requires assent of the 
mind, or will ; of itself, it is inert — sinless : it is 
only when power is translated into will, that it 
comes into the realm of accountability. God, 
therefore, in accordance with the moral order He 
has established, has the power to sin ; not, however, 
the will to sin. Considering the nature of His at- 
tributes, His free agency, absolute and unqualified 
as it is, will, not must, be always exercised in the 
line of His character, which is infinite holiness. 
Evil remains, as a factor of the Universe, but it 
never will be translated into sin, by the direct act 
of God : infinite power, will, always, be guided by 
infinite wisdom and goodness. 

Aorain :^The Devil is a free agfent ; within the 
limits permitted him by God, as absolute as God 
Himself. We shall be met, here, by objections to 
religion and the Bible, and by some Christian men 
and teachers, also, that there can be no such being 
as a personal Devil. We will spend a few moments 
in noticing this objection, before proceeding with 
the question of his free agency. 

We lay it down, as a proposition, that sin, as a 
principle, can have no existence. Evil, as a prin- 
ciple, does exist ; but it cannot, as already re- 
peatedly stated, become sin, until a responsible 
moral being intends it, or puts it in practice. 

Yonder is a vacant room ; there is no sin in it, so 
long as it is empty : let a dog, or other accountable 
being, go into it, still there is no sin there : but let 
.an accountable moral being, who has transgressed 
the moral order — who has sinned — go into it ; and, 
then sin is there. 



FREE AGENCY. 



61 



Sin is predicable, we repeat, only of accountable, 
moral beings: if, therefore, there be sin in the 
Universe, it is because, and only because, there are 
personal beings in the Universe, who have sinned 
have trangressed the moral order, as established by 
God. That this moral order has been transgressed 
is abundantly, as well as painfully, evident. 

As we have already seen, sin, in the sense of a 
terrible disorder, abounds in both the physical and 
moral Universe. Our earth, as part of the Uni- 
verse, is cursed, physically and morally ; the evi- 
dence of this being seen on every hand. 

So far as the term Devil is concerned, it attaches, 
we believe, because Satan, before his fall, was an 
angel of light : he, perhaps, held some exalted 
position in the moral realm ; and, hence, the sin of 
his fall, was such as to specially distinguish him. 
We have reason to believe, there are grades of ex- 
istence, in the spirit-world : the Bible warrants this 
idea ; reason and intuition confirm it. The very 
constitution of human society, with all its imper- 
fections, is the type of the society of the spirit- 
world. We have, and must have, grades of exis- 
tence, and distinctions in influence here ; why 
should they not exist, in the world of spirits ? Are 
not these distinctions part of the moral order of the 
Universe ? if not, why should they exist at all — 
why be found in any part of the Universe? Is 
there any more difficulty in conceiving of a personal 
Devil, than of a personal God ? manifestly not. 

The Devil's personal existence being conceded, we 
repeat : — he is a free agent, within the limits assign- 
ed him by God ; as absolute, within those limits, as 



62 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



God Himself. This freedom is required, by the 
very nature of the moral order God has establish- 
ed ; without which the Devil would be an irrespon- 
sible, and, therefore, a sinless being. The Bible 
recognizes this relation, as a fact ; many parts 
of which would be utterly inexplicable without it. 
Compulsion is at variance with the moral order : 
there can be no sin no accountability, except where 
there is freedom. 

The Devil, being then, within the limits of his 
accountability, a free agent, it follows, as a neces- 
sary corollary, that he has the power to repent. 
This, too, will startle some minds ; not so much be- 
cause it would not be desirable, if it could be 
brought about, as because it is at variance with all 
their preconceived opinions, in regard to the Devil 
and his kingdom. 

Both mind and moral sense revolt at the very 
idea, on account of the heinousness of Satan's char- 
acter, and the enormity of the sin he must have 
committed. He was, doubtless, one of the trusted 
agents, so to speak, of the Almighty, before sin en- 
tered and defiled the Universe : God's treasurer, as 
it were, who carried the bag ; as, at length, Judas, 
also, did, when he betrayed his Lord and master : 
the one the type of the other. Like Judas, under 
the Christian dispensation, the Devil, doubtless, was 
the first one in the moral Universe to rebel ; intro- 
ducing, thus, both moral and physical disorder, 
throughout the entire Kingdom of God. 

Not contented with mere personal rebellion, he 
drags down, with him, a vast number of the angels. 
Like his congeners on the earth, he involves others 



FREE AGENCY. 



63 



in his disgrace ; he craves society in wickedness ; 
and will have it, if he can. Taking delight in the 
moral ruin he has wrought, from that day, henc< 
forth, he has been, and will continue to be, watchful 
of every opportunity, to deceive and betray the in- 
nocent objects of his hatred and malice. 

How successful he has been, on this earth, its 
wrecked condition fully attests. It is not at all 
likely, that this is the full extent of his interference : 
other worlds, alas ! are, probably, involved in a 
similar calamity. The moral order, unlike the 
physical, being the same in all worlds — throughout 
the entire Universe — sin is, everywhere, possible ; 
offering, everywhere, an opportunity for diabolism. 
That the Devil would overlook any such opportu- 
nity, is inconceivable : he may have succeeded in 
some cases ; possibly, yea, probably not, in others. 

As we think of God as an infinitely holy being ; J 
so, by a necessary intuition, perhaps, we think of 
the Devil as an infinitely wicked being. The rebel- 
lion of other finite beings, because brought about 
by him, may be repented of, and so come within the 
gracious provisions of the atonement : the Devil 
and his angels, having sinned without provocation, 
will not repent ; and, so, are excluded from the 
benefits of atoning love. 

From these premises, this inevitable conclusion is 
reached — the Devil has the power to repent ; not, 
however, the will to repent : his free agency will, 
not must, be exercised, always, in the line of his 
character, which is, permanently, of his own deter- 
mined choice, established in unholiness and sin. 



64 TRI BUTTON ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



The question has sometimes been asked : — 
should the Devil and his angels come to God, truly 
penitent, would God pardon them ? reverently we 
say it — and with intensest conviction of its personal 
meaning and application — undoubtedly He would. 
The moral order is founded, in part, on the vica- 
rious principle : vicarious atonement has been made ; 
and, so, every transgressor in the Universe, may 
avail himself of it if he will. The difficulty is not 
in the efficiency of the vicarious principle, nor in the 
sufficiency of the atonement under it ; it is in the 
determined obstinacy of sin, and of every charac- 
ter permanently established in it. 

Let us next inquire, what relation man bears to 
this feature of the moral order of the Universe ? 
He, too, within the limits of his accountability, is a 
free agent ; as absolute, within those limits, as 
God Himself. Man, we repeat, is made in the im- 
age of God ; in whom is expressed every attri- 
bute of God — free agency being fundamental, man 
w T ould be an irresponsible being — a sinless be 
inpf — if this were not so. 

Much casuistry is, indeed, indulged at this point ; 
but with this we have no great concern. We write, 
we repeat, for plain people, who desire the truth in 
its simplest forms ; not for the schools, certainly 
not for cavillers. Mere scholasticism will never 
save the world ; it is not, primarily, involved in 
the moral order : the world by wisdom cannot find 
out God ; something better is wanted. Christ died, 
to save the world : both Grecian and Roman cul- 
ture failed to this end. 



FREE AGENCY. 



65 



The limits of human freedom may not be 
sharply defined ; but, for all practical purposes, we 
need not be in doubt about it. In the physical 
world man, if in a normal condition, is free to walk, 
but not to fly ; to breathe the atmosphere, but not 
the water : he is accountable, "therefore, for walking, 
not for flying ; for breathing the atmosphere, not 
the water. 

It is no answer to this, to say that a man may be 
disabled from walking or breathing from no fault of 
his own. Accidents and death are part of the 
physical order of the world, as readjusted by sin : 
they would have been impossible, or would not have 
occurred, had the world remained as God created it. 
Sin is a possibility of the moral order ; so, accidents 
and death, being the necessary result of sin, are 
conditionally possible : this limits responsibility for 
them. 

We repeat : — man is responsible for what he can 
and ought to do ; not for what he cannot do, or 
cannot avoid. God is infinitely just as well as 
holy ; the moral order is founded on these attributes 
of His character : nothing, therefore, is required of 
us which does not comport with the principles of 
justice. 

The doctrine of necessity, as applied to human 
character and conduct, of which so much has here- 
tofore been said, is an intellectual fallacy : a mental 
hallucination, where seriously held ; a mere scape- 
goat with the large majority. The freedom of the 
will, absolute and untrammeled within the limits oi 
responsibility, is a fundamental fact, as well as prin- 
ciple, of the moral order : motive can, in no case. 



66 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



have the force of necessity. We speak of it, at 
times, as determining action ; but this is an entire 
mistake — a solecism in terms — a mischevous error. 
Motive may prompt to inquiry ; but the will must 
determine results, in any case. 

With what justice could men be held to responsi- 
bility if all their conduct were determined by neces- 
sity : sound minds, everywhere, revolt at this idea ; 
it finds a lodgment, only, in warped, diseased, or 
desperately malignant minds. With the latter 
class we have no patience, make no terms ; they are 
doing — greedily so — the Devil's own work : they 
literally wallow in the mire of sin ; and would drag 
others down, to their own degraded condition if 
they could. 

Logically, the doctrine is a denial of all the divine 
attributes ; it overthrows the moral order of the 
Universe itself. Were it practically established in 
human affairs, the earth would become more cor- 
rupt than it was before the flood — a very pandemo- 
nium of vice and sin — and God, in mercy to the Uni- 
verse, as well as the race, would overwhelm the 
latter with a flood of waters ; or, as in the case of 
Sodom and Gomorrah, sweep them out of existence, 
in the burning flames of His indignation. 

We repeat : — free agency is a fundamental fact, 
in the divine economy of the Universe : absolute, 
as to God ; limited, as to finite beings ; but neces- 
sary to all That God might have constituted the 
moral Universe differently ; might have made finite 
beings without free agency and irresponsible — inca- 
pable of sin — may be conceded : it is sufficient to 
know, that He has not chosen to do so. 



FREE AGENCY. 



That the good of the Universe is involved in this 
arrangement, we may be well assured ; impossible 
as it is for us to understand it fully. God, how- 
ever, is infinitely wise, holy, just, and good ; and 
upon this we can rest with full assurance. Not a 
sparrow falls to the ground without our Heavenly 
Father's notice : even the very hairs of our head 
are numbered. His power surrounds us ; His love 
overshadows us : a fuller fruition we could not 
have ; a completer ground of satisfaction, and con- 
fident expectation, would be impossible. 

With reference to the moral order of the Uni- 
verse, as established by God, and the development 
of sin in it, under the operation of free agency, it 
will help us, to inquire, reverently, if sin be an in- 
evitable result ? 

Indirectly, we have discussed this question al- 
ready. 

The moral order, as we have seen, includes evil 
as a principle, and sin as a possibility : sin, then, 
is not in the moral order, save as a possibility ; and 
can come into existence, only by transgression. In 
any particular case, therefore, so far as habitable 
earths are concerned, is sin unavoidable ? A rea- 
sonable answer to this question, we think, is possi- 
ble. 

Adam and Eve were created sinless, but liable to 
sin : would they, of themselves, and without tempt- 
ation from a foreign source, have remained as they 
were ? We believe they would ; and that the race 
after them, in the absence of temptation from a 
similar source, would, als.o, have remained sinless 



68 RETRIBUTION- ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



Let us consider, first, the earth, with reference to 
endless duration. 

The assumed indestructibility of matter — a valu- 
able philosophy, with respect to finite observation ; 
an inexpressible folly, as predicated of omnipotent 
power — we need say no more about : the question, 
simply, is : — as God has chosen to adjust the rela- 
tions of the physical realm, is it necessary that they 
should grow old and die, as it were ; or can they 
retain perennial freshness and beauty, time without 
end ? We must state, not argue. 

As already inquired, what does the phrase Gar- 
den of Eden mean ? Simply that the earth, as 
God created it, was adapted to a race of innocent, 
sinless beings — as a suitable home for them. If so 
created, could it not be so maintained ? To all who 
believe in the immanent power, wisdom, and love of 
a Supreme Being, the question is answered by ask- 
ing it. 

«_> 

Let it be borne in mind, that the physical world 
is the mode, in which, primarily, God reveals Him- 
self to finite intelligent creatures ; and that it is 
adaptable to two radically different conditions of 
existence — a holy and sinful condition — both good 
and evil being involved in the moral order. 

A condition of sinlessness is possible, as illustra- 
ted in the existence of God, and the angels ; and, 
also, in the life -and character of our Saviour : the 
earth, therefore, as God originally created it, when 
the race was sinless, might have retained perennial 
freshness and beauty, to all eternity. Its death, 
and that of the race, was the result of sin : by and 



FREE AGENCY. 



6 9 



by, it will be re-adapted, by fire, to a sinless con- 
dition ; and abide, thus, forever. 

As with the earth, so with the human body : it is 
adaptable to a sinless, and, also, to a sinful condition 
of the soul. As originally created by God, it was 
deathless, because sinless : death ensued when, and 
only when, sin supervened. But for sin, the body 
would have endured forever — would have never 
grown old or died : this is the teaching of scripture, 
and a necessary inference of inductive reason. If 
sinlessness is possible, a suitable home for sin- 
less beings, will be provided. At length — under 
another dispensation — the body, as well as the soul, 
will live forever : sinless beings never die ;■ God is 
eternal, because sinless. 

As bearing upon this subject, part of the suffer- 
ing of our Saviour, while on earth, was occasioned 
by the fact, that while His soul was sinless, He 
was, for the time being, in a merely human body, 
and living in a sinful world ; all the conditions of 
which, were adapted to a sinful state. Deeply 
spiritual natures, now, will see in this, an occasion 
for much suffering. For this reason, Christ was 
much alone ; communing with Himself, and His 
Father : where else could He go for full companion- 
ship ? He was out of His natural element — was 
away from Heaven — away from all the loving asso- 
ciations, the tenderness and affection, of His heav- 
enly home : even the passionate and devoted love 
of Mary of Magdala, could not fill His longing- 
heart : woman's love, for once, failed, in part, in its 
divine mission : the Saviour of mankind, postpones 
only ; but does not reject merely human affection. 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



To the loving attempt of Mary to embrace Him, 
in the joy of her discovery that He had risen again 
from the dead, He replied, with a tenderness and 
wealth of affection, that embraced the whole human 
family — " touch me not ; for I am not yet ascended 
to my Father." 

Is it any wonder, that he who knew the spirit-world 
so well, longed to return to those He loved — to the 
realm of perennial beauty and sinlessness ? Oh, no ! 
the longings of the human heart, even, cannot be 
satisfied with such a world as this. Here there are 
bleeding hearts — crushed and broken affections — 
the result of sin. It may not, always, be thus : the 
heart, even here, cries out for relief. 

We inquire, again : — would i\dam and Eve have 
remained sinless, had they not been tempted to sin, 
from a source foreign to themselves ? We believe 
they would. Their condition, was, in all respects, 
a satisfactory one ; they neither knew sin, experi- 
mentally, nor thought anything about it — they were 
innocent ; pure. In the absence of such knowledge, 
and of all temptation to acquire it, they certainly 
would not sin. Sinless beings, then, as a rule, will 
remain so, unless tempted to sin, by beings other, 
and, in some respects, superior to themselves. 

Christ's sufferings on earth, arose, in part, from 
the ordinary temptations His human body, and His 
partly human soul, exposed Him to : He was 
tempted, in all points, as we are — tempted by some- 
thing foreign to His divine nature. He was tempt- 
ed, also, by the Devil ; a being (considering that 
Christ's divine nature was veiled in human flesh, 
and subject, for the time being, to merely human 



FREE AGENCY. 



71 



conditions) who was, in some respects, superior to 
Himself; as he. was hostile to both Him and His 
Kingdom. Sinless beings, then, we repeat, will re- 
main sinless, unless tempted to sin, by beings other, 
and, in some respects, superior to themselves ; 
while — blessed assurance with respect to our final 
heavenly state — they may remain sinless, under the 
most powerful temptations. Oh ! when shall deliv- 
erance come to this bleeding, desolate earth ; to 
these broken and mutilated bodies of ours ? 



72 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



CHAPTER VI. 



HEAVEN AND HELL. 



If we have properly conceived the nature of our 
subject, and given it thus far a warranted ex- 
pression, we are prepared, somewhat, to inquire as 
to the nature of Heaven and Hell ; their origin, 
meaning, scope, and significance. 

Good and evil, as we have so frequently noticed, 
are the foundations of the moral Universe. Ab- 
stractly considered, they are principles merely, and 
can come into recognized existence, only as they are 
illustrated in the lives of intelligent, accountable 
beings. As principles, they are inert ; without 
power ; without responsibility : as forces, therefore, 
they can be dealt with, only, by other forms of ex- 
pression. Good as a principle, becomes righteous- 
ness of character — right thinking and acting — when 
called into practical exercise, by an intelligent re- 
sponsible being : such a being exemplifies the good- 
ness of God in both character and conduct. Evil, as 
a principle, becomes unrighteousness of character — 
wrong thinking and acting — when similarly called 
into exercise : such a being exemplifies the sinful- 
ness of Satan, in both character and conduct. 

There being no neutral ground in morals, every 
accountable being, sustains either a good or evil 
character, in practical exercise. These concrete 
relations, considered as states or conditions of ex- 



HEA VEN AND HELL. 



73 



istence, are denominated Heaven and Hell, accord- 
ing to moral character. Heaven and Hell, there- 
fore, are the concrete equivalents of good and evil : 
Heaven is where good is — in practical exercise ; 
Hell is where evil is — in practical exercise. Heaven 
and Hell, then, as will be readily inferred from what 
has now and previously been said, are cosmic con- 
ditions of the Universe ; and can be rightly 
appreciated, only, by thinking of them as such. 

Many — the large majority of mankind, we im- 
agine — think of Heaven and Hell, as related tc 
this earth, only : this belittles the whole matter, and 
reduces to a farce, the gravest subject, that can pos- 
sibly engage the attention of mankind. We, are such 
sensuous creatures — so tied up to objective phenom- 
ena — that if we have any definite ideas of Heaven 
and Hell, we thing of them as places of existence, 
mainly, located somewhere on some distant planet ; 
to be reached, only, after the death of the body. 
Let us endeavor to get a juster view of the 
matter. 

The words of our Saviour are of first importance 
in this respect. 

In the 34th verse of the 25th chapter of Matthew, 
our Lord, speaking of the judgment-day, when all 
nations are to be gathered before Him, says : — 

" Then shall the King say unto them on His 
right hand, come ye blessed of my father, inherit 
the Kingdom prepared for you, from the found- 
ation of the world." 

The word "from," here, has the significance of 
before ; and the essential idea involved, is endless- 
ness. The kingdom referred to, is that sinless, 



74 RETRIBUTION '; OR BE A VEX AXD HE II. 

happy state, or condition of existence, in which 
the Kino- — God Himself — dwells, which is eternal 
of course. Heaven, then, by God's own affirma- 
tion, through His divine Son, is as eternal as God 
Himself. The Bible, everywhere, confirms this 
view. 

Again : — In the 41st verse of the same chapter, 
cur Saviour, speaking on the same general subject, 
says : — 

"Then shall He, also, say unto them on the left 
hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting, 
or as in the Revised version, eternal fire ; prepared 

for the Devil and his angels." 

<_> 

Here, too, carefully considered, the idea is that oi 
endlessness- — that is, from and to all eternity. The 
real idea is that of the moral order of the Universe ; 
and as that is coeval with God's existence, it is 
eternal, of course. Sin, and Hell as punishment 
therefor, are, therefore, possibilities of the moral 
order ; having their sanction in the character and 

attributes of God Himself. When this transores- 

<_> 

sion of the moral order first took place, so giving 
rise to Hell, as a condition of existence, will be 
considered presently. Let us, now, endeavor to 
give a concise definition of Heaven and Hell as a 
basis for further consideration : — 

Heaven and Hell are conditions of existence ; 
the happiness of the one, and the suffering of the 
other, being determined by moral character. This 
applies to all worlds, visible and invisible, and to all 
states of existence. With reference to this earth, 
which most concerns us, the proposition may be put 
thus : — 



HE A VEN AND HELL. 



75 



Heaven and Hell are conditions of existence ; 
the happiness of the one, or the suffering of the 
other, being determined, in the case of each indi- 
vidual, by the moral character voluntarily formed in 
this life. 

With reference to the future life : — 
Heaven and Hell are conditions of existence ; 
the happiness of the one or the suffering of the 

other, beinor determined, in the case of each incli- 

' <_> * 

vidual, by the moral character formed in this life, 
and persisted in in the life to come. 

With reference to this earth, therefore, where 
holiness of character is the ruling purpose of life,, 
in a subordinate sense, there is Heaven : where un- 
holiness of character — sin — is the ruling purpose of 
life, in a subordinate sense, there is Hell. 

With reference to the future life, where holiness 
does and sin does not exist, there is Heaven"; 
where sin exists and holiness does not exist, there 
is Hell. Heaven and Hell, then, we repeat, are 
conditions of existence, determined by moral char- 
acter : in this and all states of existence — in this 
and all worlds. 

From what has now been said, the question when 
and how Heaven and Hell were established, is, in 
one sense, easily answered : they are identified with 
the moral order of the Universe — Heaven coeval 
with the existence of God Himself; Hell coming 
into practical existence, with the first transgression 
of a finite, responsible, free, moral being. 

When the latter contingency, in the point of 
time, arose, we have no means of knowing ; it is 
entirely unimportant that we should know : the fact 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND BELT. 



is all that concerns us. The Bible alludes to it as a 
fact, and there leaves it ; we must, necessarily do the 
same. 

As the Bible speaks of the fall of the angels, and 
speaks of Hell as originally prepared for the Devil 
and his angels, it is probable that this fall of the 
angels, in the order of time, was the first transores- 
sion in the Universe ; taking place, it may be, in 
such uncounted myriad ages past, as to defy all 
powers of mathematics to number them. Trans- 
gression, in whatsoever state or condition of exist- 
ence it has occurred, must have had a beginning ; 
but, in this respect, this is all that can be said about 
it. What can be certainly affirmed, is that Hell, as 
punishment for sin, stands related to the moral or- 
der of the Universe ; ordained, by God, for the 
welfare of the Universe, and every finite being 
in it. 

Let us press this thought further : — Heaven and 
Hell — the rewards of the one, and the punishments 
of the other — are moral forces ; as indispensable to 
the welfare of human society, as to that of the Uni- 
verse, at large : the moral order would be gravely im- 
perfect without them. As motives to obedience, 
both have their value : each being a complement of 
the other : who can decide as to their relative impor- 
tance ? The hope of Heaven may be a stronger 
inducement to some, than the fear of Hell ; but is 
this true of the race at large ? The worship of the 
great mass of the world, is, mainly a deprecation of 
evil : all the old mythologies are founded upon this 
principle, and fully exemplify it ; modern society is 
deeply impregnated with it : All civil government is 



HE A VEN AND HELL. 



77 



founded upon it ; no special rewards being given to 
obedience, while punishment is meted out to the 
disobedient. 

We repeat : — Heaven and Hell are moral forces ; 
both indispensable to the welfare of society, and to 
that of the Universe at large : the Bible, every- 
where, recognizes this relation, enforcing it, always, 
in definite, and awe-inspiring language. Fear, as a 
motive to obedience, is greatly underrated, by the 
mawkish sentimentalism of the day. Relaxation, at 
this point, and a growing disbelief in punishment for 
sin, are exerting a baleful influence in society ; the 
evidence of which is cropping out everywhere. 
The modern pulpit is not free from this corrupting 
tendency ; the literature of the day is, largely, sat- 
urated with it ; the lecture room, and the platform, 
resound with it ; institutions of learning, even some 
of the higher grades, are more than tolerating it : 
it is a sad spectacle ; a real calamity ; which, only, a 
more thorough reconsideration of this entire sub- 
ject can alleviate. 

In the li^ht of what has thus far been said, how 
ill-advised are the objections, so frequently urged 
against these doctrines ; whether upon rationalistic 
or other grounds. The Supreme Being has seen 
fit to adopt a general plan for the Universe, so far 
as the moral order is concerned, basing it upon the 
principles of good and evil, and of free agency, as 
its fundamental factor. The fact that a Being of 
infinite perfections, with whom love is the domina- 
ting attribute, has established such a moral order, 
demonstrates, clearly, that the greatest good of the 
Universe is involved in it. In this view of the 



78 



RETRIBUTION OR HE A VEN AND HE LI. 



case, the expression — that Hell itself is founded on 
the love of God — is not a violent one. 

We may not be able to comprehend this truth, 
fully, but we are forced to admit it. Without its 
sanctions, the moral order, we repeat, would be 
gravely imperfect ; impairing our confidence in the 
wisdom and justice of God, and introducing a prin- 
ciple of confusion, which would be utterly subver- 
sive of all moral order whatever. 

We affirm, again, with the utmost positiveness, 
that the welfare of society is involved in this mat- 
ter ; this cannot be emphasized too earnestly, nor 
too often : society must, not only, be brought back 
to its allegiance to these great truths ; it must be 
educated up to a far higher appreciation of them. 

There are, we may add, many excellent Christian 
people, who both hope and believe, that, in the 
next life, and under a different condition of things, 
God will, • somehow, eliminate all evil from the 
world. They believe in future punishment, and 
that it will continue while sin continues ; but they 
believe in a final restoration, as the result of final 
repentance. This belief, also, is somewhat preva- 
lent ; being found, to a limited extent, in all our 
evangelical bodies, as well as in society generally; 
there is a Hell, they say, but it is of limited dura- 
tion. As these views, in many instances, spring 
out of the humaner impulses of the heart, those 
who entertain them, seriously, are greatly to be re- 
spected ; many of whom are eminent, alike, for 
their Christian virtues and character. The error, 
however, in our view of the case, is a serious one ; 
calling, loudly, for its thorough reconsideration. 



HE A VEN AND HELL. 



79 



If there be any reason for the existence of Hell 
at all, why should it cease to exist ? if, moreover, it 
is part of the moral order of the Universe — an in- 
dispensable moral force — how could it be safely 
dispensed with ? Why should it not continue to ex- 
ist ? The conclusion thus interrogatively suggested, 
seems inevitable . — Hell is cosmic and must endure 
forever ; the interests of the Universe demand it. 

The moral power of any system or peculiarity of 
religious belief, is cumulative testimony as to its 
validity : let us look at the matter in this light. 
The views we are for the moment considering — 
arian, or socinian, as in later times they are called — 
originated in the early days of Christianity ; immedi- 
ately after the apostolic era. We bear in mind, of 
course, that they are claimed to have their warrant, 
to some extent, in the Bible ; but as this is a dis- 
puted point, and as they are defended, chiefly, on 
ethical grounds, the logic of ethics is properly 
applied to them. 

The fact that they were held, tentatively or other- 
wise, by some of the greatest minds in the early 
church — as they have been, to some extent, by the 
great and good, in all ages since — is not conclusive. 
Great truths, as a rule, especially in the realm of 
ethics, can be tested by results, only : development, 
progress, efficacy, are the test, as they are the law 
of those truths, that have a divine origin, and con- 
cern human welfare. 

Sin has invaded the world ; the divine plan is its 
restoration, according to the moral order, establish- 
ed for that purpose : what, therefore, tends not, or 
fails, or is inefficient, to accomplish this purpose, 



8o RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 

is not in full accord with the divine economy. 
Tested by this rule, what can be said of arianism or 
socinianism, but that they have evinced their un- 
divine origin — their want of adaptation, to the 
divine economy of redemption and restoration. 

We do not mean to say, that these doctrines are 
of no value, in the ethical realm ; but, merely, that 
they are inefficient factors, thereof : their influence 
appearing to be, almost wholly, of a negative char- 
acter ; serving useful ends by contrast, chiefly. 
Negation, intellectually or otherwise, has no force ; 
is not according to the divine plan of restoration — 
not according to the moral order established for 
that purpose ; there is no neutral ground in morals ; 
doctrines, as well as men, are either for, or against 
God — are either helping on, or hindering His 
Kingdom. 

Tested by results, what do we witness ? Socini- 
anism, as a doctrine, still exists, but it has made but 
little progress in the world. Now, as when under 
another name, it was defended by the early fathers 
of the church, its ethical force, is, comparatively, 
unimportant ; its contests few : it serves the pur- 
poses of discussion, by contrast ; but this is nearly 
all. Its adherents do not multiply ; and but for 
other views, and doctrines, the world would stag- 
nate and die. 

What can be the value of a system, which evinces 
little or no aggressive power ? The world lies in 
sin ; it is God's plan to redeem it ; moral forces, to 
this end, are requisite : what is to be thought of a 
system, that fails in this respect ? 



HEA VEiV AND HELL. 



8l 



With regard to the endlessness of punishment— 
the duration of Hell — much has been made of 
what may be termed the philological argument. 
We think this a very unimportant matter ; but as it 
has been put forward, prominently, by able and ex- 
cellent men, we will notice it, briefly. 

Words are representatives of ideas : by no possi- 
bility, can any word be introduced into, and preserv- 
ed, in any language, unless it involves and expresses 
an idea. 

The idea of endlessness, as distinguished from its 
adequate conception, is involved in every language 
that ever had, or ever will have an existence. An 
adequate conception of endlessness, is, indeed, im- 
possible ; the idea is not. 

As an idea, endlessness is an intuition of the 
human mind — a phase of the image of God, Him- 
self impressed, immediately, and beyond all reason- 
ing on the subject, upon the soul : as an intuition, 
it is, simply, beyond, not at variance with reason. 
We desire * to press this point, as it lies at the 
bottom of all sound reasoning on this subject : is 
essential, indeed, to any just conception of God, 
and His moral government. 

It is impossible to believe, or even to conceive, 
that time, thought of as duration merely, ever 
had a beginning - or ever will have an end. For the 
sake of clearness and simplicity, we waive the dis- 
tinctions, sometimes made, between time and eter- 
nity : careful readers understand them ; cursory 
readers do not : eternity, therefore, for our purpose, 
and as it essentially is, is, simply, endless dura- 
tion — time without beginning or end. In this 



82 



RETRIBUTION ; OR BE A VEN AIVD HELL. 



sense, we repeat, endlessness is an intuition of the 
mind : a phase of God's own image, impressed im- 
mediately upon the soul. 

Equally impossible is it, to conceive of space, as 
commonly apprehended, as having limitations. 
Adequate conceptions here, also, are impossible ; 
but illimitation, as an idea, we certainly do have, 
and cannot avoid. Both time and space are fund- 
amental ideas of existence, finite or infinite : when, 
therefore, reference is had to God, and His govern- 
ment, limitation of any kind is inadmissible. 

The Greek language, in which the New Testa- 
ment was written, has quite a number of words, 
that involve the idea of time — duration — -among 
which, and more common, perhaps, than any other, 
are the words aionios — aionion — from the noun aion, 
meaning age-duration. This is the word, in its 
various forms and combinations, despite all adverse 
criticism, generally used, in the New Testament, to 
represent the idea of endlessness or eternity. It is 
the word used in the 25th chapter of Matthew, al- 
ready quoted, describing both the happiness of the 
righteous and the punishment of the wicked : it is 
used elsewhere, in very many passages. We re- 
cognize that we are dealing with what is considered 
a debatable point — the meaning of the word aionion, 
as used in the passages referred to ; but as it is the 
word used by our Saviour, as imputed to Him by 
the apostles, our only concern is to get at the ideas 
there conveyed by it : reminding our readers, again, 
that the Bible was written, for the most part by, 
and addressed to, common minds. So there was an 
obvious necessity for this ; as, otherwise, a large 



HE A VEN AND HELL. 



83 



proportion of the human family could not well un- 
derstand it, and so would be left without suitable 
instruction. 

The Bible is a revelation of God, to mankind, at 
large ; not to the cultured, only. Aionion was the 
word which the common people generally used, 
to express their idea of endlessness ; and we can 
well believe, that this is the special reason why the 
Saviour used it. Go tell my imprisoned servant- 
John — said the large hearted, comprehensive mind- 
ed, loving Saviour, " that the poor — the unlettered, 
uncultured — "have the gospel preached to them" — 
unheard of message hitherto — -spoken then to a 
darkened, yet expectant earth : the way of salvation 
must be made so plain, that a way-faring man, 
though a fool, need not err therein : the way to 
Heaven — -the city of refuse for all mankind— like 
the highways to the various cities of refuge in" 
Palestine, must be plain, narrow, and as straight as 
possible ; in order that no one, however lowly or 
feeble, shall miss the way : the blind, even, may grope 
their way there ; or, perchance, a little child shall 
lead them. The unlettered Jewish boy trod the 
way for more than thirty years, shedding the lustre 
of Heaven, upon His path ; the simplicity and 
glory of which remain to all earth's benighted ones : 
we may walk in His footsteps, if we will ; may 
reach the goal that He reached — a loving Father's 
arms — the House where the loving Saviour dwells. 

It is objected, but certainly with doubtful propri- 
ety, that this word — aionion, being so often plainly 
used in a limited sense, does not, under any circum- 
stances, carry with it, the idea of endlessness. The 



84 RETRIBUTION j OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



position, however, is certainly untenable ; as there 
is not a language, living or dead, which is not char- 
acterized, by the same apparent incongruities ; the 
English language being full of them. The simple 
truth is, the meaning of words, must, in many, 
perhaps most instances, be determined by their con- 
nection : when speaking of God, therefore, and of 
His moral government, as Christ was, in the chap- 
ter referred to, the words, " everlasting," " eternal" — 
the words being the same and having the same 
force in the Greek in both cases — must, necessarily, 
carry with them, the idea of endlessness. They do, 
indeed, involve the idea of happiness or misery, as 
the necessary condition of the future life — of 
Heaven or Hell — but most surely, also, do they 
carry with them the idea of endlessness. 

At the time referred to — a few days, only, be- 
fore the Passover, when Christ was about to be 
crucified, and pass into the Heaven from which He 
came, and when His troubled disciples were alarm- 
ed at His approaching departure from them — He 
was re-assuring them of the nature of His King- 
dom. Of what avail would it have been, for Him 
to tell them that, by and by, they should certainly 
meet Him in Heaven, but for a season, only? this 
would have been a mockery of the most sacred feel- 
ings — we say it with reverent confidence — the 
Saviour of mankind could not have been guilty of. 
If the idea of endless happiness is here conveyed, 
by the words " life eternal " ; by parity of reason, 
(the word having the same force in each case, in 
the Greek) the idea of endless unhappiness, must, it 
would seem, be involved in the words "everlasting," 



HE A VEN AND HELL. X 5 

or as now rendered, ''eternal punishment," whatever 
its particular nature. 

Again : — it is objected, that the word aionion, can- 
not, of itself, involve the idea of endlessness, as it is 
s*o often sought to strengthen, or add to, its force, 
by additional words ; many examples of which occur 
in the Bible. This, however, is not surprising, as 
the like usage is common to all languages. We use 
the terms "forever and ever," "to all eternity," "a 
never-ending eternity," and the like ; laboring, as 
all must, unavailably, to express, in finite terms, our 
necessarily inadequate conceptions of the infinite. 

Such was the, case with the disciples ; they could 
have no adequate conceptions of endlessness, as ap- 
plied to the future life ; but the idea they did have, 
and they struggled to realize it, by emphasising 
their inadequate conceptions, tautologically ; en- 
deavoring, thus, to come near the idea itself : such 
is the case, even now, when language is used, with 

o o 

a precision, unknown in any former age. 

The patristic fathers are much quoted, in quali- 
fied support of this, and some other controverted 
doctrines of the Bible : it is hazarding little, how- 
ever, to say, that no one of them understood 
the Greek, the Hebrew, or any of the supposed 
older lan^ua^es, as as some of our best modern 
scholars do : "distance always lends enchantment to 
the view." Augustine, himself, one of the great 
lights of the early church, confessed his compara- 
tive unfamiliarity with even the Greek language ; 
while, Origen, and Theodore of Mopsuestiae, not 
to speak of others, were scarcely more than mere 
scholastics ; debating the meaning and construction 



86 



RETRIBUTION j OR HE A VEN AND HE LI. 



of language, rather than the great principles underly- 
ing Christianity, and the moral government of God. 
The early age was a formative one ; and little else 
could be expected, than to lay the somewhat rude 
foundations, of the glorious temple of Christianity*: 
the polishing the stones, and the ornamentation of 
the temple, itself, must be left to the then future 
ages. A grand work has, thus far, been done ; but 
the end is not yet, never will be, indeed, till a new 
earth, and a new Heaven, shall be created; till the 
King shall come in His glory, and solve all doubts. 

A further view of this subject is important : — In 
the days of our Saviour a belief in the future exist- 
ence of the soul, shadowy as in some respects it was, 
was common. This, despite some respectable ad- 
verse opinions, can be sustained, abundantly, from 
contemporaneous history, as well as the Bible. Both 
the Saviour and the apostles, recognized this fact ; 
and labored less to establish it, as a fact, than 
to explain its nature. Then, as now, some doubted 
it ; but the mass of mankind intuitively belived it. 
Christ came to bring immortality to light : it was 
in the world, before ; but it was shadowy — vague. 
When the vail of the temple was rent in twain, 
the light of Heaven began to shine in upon the 
soul and so brought it to the revivifying influences 
of the Father's love : the Holy of Holies was thus 
made manifest. 

As bearing upon the question of endlessness of 
punishment, it is pertinent to inquire, if, according 
to the moral order, a permanently sinful character, 
can be establshed in this life? If this be so, then 
the fearful fact of endless punishment is de- 



HE A VEN AND HELL. 



87 



monstratecl. From the very nature of the moral 
order, this is possible. Free agency, as we have 
seen, is a fundamental factor of the moral realm ; 
and involves, necessarily, the possibility that the re- 
demption economy, as part of the moral order, may 
be rejected. God will save no one, against his will ; 
compulsion is at variance with the moral order ; a 
hearty, voluntary acceptance of grace, is necessary 
to salvation. We repeat : — grace may be rejected, 
now and forever, by deliberate intention — by a de- 
termined purpose of the will. 

No one questions that a permanently good char- 
acter may be here established ; why not a per- 
manently evil character ? the rule of judgment can- 
not, without violence to both reason and intuition, 
be varied in the latter case. The moral order, in- 
volving free agency — an unqualified power of 
choice — was ordained from all eternity, and the 
best interests of the Universe are involved in it ; 
why, then, should it be changed ? moral chaos 
would come again, if it were. 

By the moral economy, as ordained by, God, this 
life is one of probation — the only one, apparently ; 
if, therefore, a permanently sinful character can be 
established here, it will continue thus, to all 
eternity. If, of set purpose, a man will not repent, 
in this life, upon what principle of reasoning, may 
his repentance be expected, in the life to come ? 
will not the moral order be the same there, as 
here ? Men do live sinful lives and die in them : 
having rejected proffered mercy here, will they ac- 
cept it, hereafter ? reason, intuition, aud revelation 
answer — no. 



88 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



Any discussion of this subject, that did not con- 
sider the material views associated with it, would 
be altogether unsatisfactory ; involved, as they are, 
in our general conceptions of Heaven and Hell. Are 
such views warranted ? rightly understood, we think 
they are. There are, indeed, no literal lakes of fire 
and brimstone ; as there is no literal Heavenly- Jeru- 
salem with gates of pearl, and streets of gold ; but 
there are facts which these terms symbolize, a rev- 
erent inquiry into which, is both becoming and 
proper. 

We have seen that the order of the Universe, in- 
cludes the physical as well as the moral order ; 
through both which, God reveals Himself to finite 
beings : in this respect, the physical order, possibly, 
is not less important than the moral. However this 
may be, God has chosen the physical order for this 
purpose ; and that, very properly, ends all reason- 
ing on the subject. 

The physical order is adapted, in its possibilities, 
to two different states, or conditions of existence : 
to a sinless state, as was the case with the earth, be- 
fore the fall ; and to a sinful state, as the earth be- 
came after the fall, and as it now is. Now, the 
phrase — Garden of Eden — is an accommodation of 
terms, to finite understandings. It does not mean, 
that there was a literal garden there, as we commonly 
understand the term ; but it does mean, that the 
earth, as God created it, and before sin entered into 
and so defiled it, was adapted to an innocent, sinless, 
race of beings : it does mean, that God has seen fit, 
to identify, to some extent, the physical with the 
moral order of the Universe ; so that, where there 



BEA VEN AND HELL. 89 

are innocent, sinless beings, they shall have a 
proper place to live in ; and where there are 
guilty, sinful beings, they, too, shall have a place 
to live in, adapted to their condition. 

As there is, as God has ordained, a connection 
between the physical and moral order, as a whole ; 
so there is, in like manner, included therein, a con- 
nection between the body and soul of man. The 
relation may not be absolutely necessary, under all 
circumstances ; but it is generally so : the soul can 
live both in and out of the body ; but the former is 
its normal condition. 

That there is a relation between the physical and 
moral order, is further apparent, from the change 
the earth underwent, after the fall. Previously 
thereto, no thorns nor thistles grew upon the earth ; 
neither lightning nor earthquake disturbed it ; it 
produced everything man needed for his comfort 
and happiness ; % labor was a pleasure ; no sweat of 
the brow was caused by it ; suffering and sorrow were 
unknown. After the fall, when sin had wrought its 
baleful work, all this was changed : suffering and 
sorrow are, now, the lot of mankind ; the body — 
capable, as God created it, of living forever — dies ; 
the soul is defiled — smitten with moral death ; and 
the earth, to meet the changed relations of the race, 
is re-adapted to a sinful condition. We see, there- 
fore, that there is, as God has chosen to arrange it. 
a relation of a positive character, between the 
physical and moral order ; between sin, and the ma- 
terial world we inhabit. Disorder, suffering and 
sorrow — physical, mental and spiritual — are the re- 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEJV AND HELL. 



suit ; and that because of transgression — sin. Sin 
is Hell begun ; in this, and in all worlds. 

As already observed, the expressions — furnace of 
fire, and others of similar import, found in the 
Bible — are not to be accepted in a strictly literal 
sense : they, too, are accommodations to finite con- 
ceptions — the feeblest of them. The Bible, to be 
understood in its most important matters — in those 
things that vitally concern the welfare of human 
beings — must be written in plain, simple, yet forci- 
ble language ; and its illustrations must be such, as 
to be immediately apprehended by, and carry con- 
viction. to commonest minds. Trained and cultiva- 
ted minds, will not be misled by them ; but if less 
forcible, or less sensuous in character, they would, 
in many instances, fail of their intended effect. In- 
spiration may not be verbal, even with respect to 
the languages, in which the Bible was originally 
written — and this is all that is meant by verbal in- 
spiration — if a literal interpretation be given to the 
words ; but, understood in their representative 
sense, as conveying, in the best and most forcible 
manner, important ideas to the mind, they are in- 
spired. For this purpose, no Avords can be too 
forcible ; and, hence, those appealing directly to 
our. sensuous nature, are chosen : everyone — the 
commonest minds even — will understand these ; the 
cultured, we repeat, will not mistake their meaning 
or application. 

For the most part, the human family are child- 
ren — inapt of understanding and conceptions ; the 
Bible, therefore, must be, verbajly and illustratively, 
accommodated to their weakness. W ere this not 



HE A VEJST AND HELL. g I 

so, inspiration itself would be a failure ; common 
minds would not understand it. We repeat : — the 
expressions, above referred to, are not exaggera- 
tions, if properly understood. They do not repre- 
sent a literal furnace of fire, nor lakes of fire and 
brimstone — illustrations taken from the common 
life of the Jews, and which they perfectly under- 
stood — but they do mean, that the physical order 
is involved with the moral order ; that the re- 
sult of sin is seen in the natural, as well as the 
moral world ; that the human body is involved in 
ruin, as well as the soul ; and thaf so long as sin ex- 
ists, these relations must, and will, be preserved. 

As already observed, sin is Hell begun : that is — 
there is natural as well as moral disorder — suffering 
and sorrow, violence and death— where sin is ; the 
relation is fixed, and unalterable : the order of the 
Universe, physical and moral, as thus adaptable, 
ordained from all eternity, for the best interests of 
finite, immortal beings, is immutable. Hell, then, 
is a condition of existence, determined by moral 
character ; involving relations both physical and 
moral. 

The soul may, indeed, exist without the body, 
as other merely spiritual beings do, and as, for a 
time, it will, after death and before resurrection ; yet 
its physical relations, otherwise, will be preserved ; 
and, by and by, it will be re-habilitated with the 
counterpart of its earthly body ; and live on, in its 
predestined condition, forever. 

As the soul can live without the body, it may be, 
that, so far as the wicked are concerned, their 
souls may pass, at death, at once into the spiritual 



92 RETRIBUTION , OR HE A VEN AND HEIL. 



realm of evil ; to be engaged forever after, in that 
condition, with other fallen spirits, in the great 
warfare between good and evil — between God and 
Satan — that is going on, ever, throughout the Uni- 
verse. This view is held by some, but fails, per- 
haps, to answer the full force of scriptural illustra- 
tion. We do not think the distinction important ; 
as, in either case, language fails to give a full idea, 
of the evil condition of a sinful soul, in the life to 
come : neither the happiness of Heaven, nor the un- 
happiness of Hell, can be fully comprehended by finite 
minds, nor expresse^d in human language. On earth, 
revelation, only, can guide us ; in another life, ex- 
perience will teach us : sad reflection, for those 
who are not prepared for Heaven. 

If the material idea, as to body and place, be ac- 
cepted, the question where Hell is, in its final sense- 
that is, where the abode of the wicked will be after 
the resurrection — is a fair one. The only answer 
that can be given, is, that it is not definitely known ; 
in this respect the Bible does not reveal it, and 
mere speculation in regard to it, is as unavailable 
as it is unauthorized and improper. It is enough 
for us to know that God hates sin, and will punish 
it eternally ; having adjusted both the physical, and 
the moral order of the Universe, to this end. 

With respect to Heaven, also, the material ideas 
involved, are proper subjects of consideration. 
The expressions used in the Bible to describe it, 
are not, in this case either, to be taken in a literal 
sense. There is no actual New Jerusalem, with its 
streets of gold, and gates of pearl ; but these 
similes are forcible illustrations of the heavenly 



HE A VEJV AND I/ELL. cj 3 

state ; admirably adapted to sensuous, compara- 
tively unspiritual minds, in all ages of the world : 
in the instruction of the young, also, when the per- 
ceptive faculties take precedence of the reflective, 
their sensuous character is invaluable : young minds 
could be reached in no other way. As already in- 
dicated with regard to Hell, these illustrations are 
condescensions to common minds — to common un- 
derstandings : cultured understandings, here also, 
will mistake neither their meaning nor application. 
The order of the Universe — physical and moral — 
which God has seen fit to adopt, is implied and an- 
nounced by them : there is no occasion to press 
this point further. 

In this life, the soul and the body are united ; 
the happiness of the righteous, consisting of the 
proper exercise of the affections, towards God and 
man ; and in those special blessings which are the 
earthly rewards of well-doing. Suffering and sor- 
row, however, being, in this life, the lot of the 
righteous as well as the wicked, the soul — the real 
being—a positive entity — the immortal part of 
man — being relieved of the body, passes into a 
merely spiritual, or, more correctly, a disembodied 
state, or condition, where unalloyed happiness, only, 
exists. 

Whether anything properly denominated physi- 
cal, even in the remotest degree, is connected with 
the state or condition of the redeemed soul, after 
death and before the resurrection, we do not know. 
The boundary between the material and immaterial 
world, is not easily comprehensible. It is not in 
the diamond, the hardest of known substances ; it 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



is not in stone ; it is not in water ; it is not in air ; 
it is not in the imponderable gases : where, then, 
is it ? Is matter infinitely divisible? it would seem 
so ; but we cannot comprehend it. 

With respect to the soul itself, without reference 
to its environments, so to speak, physical ideas are 
not admissible ; but whether it exists entirely free 
from^ or rather superior to such environments, as 
God Himself does, cannot be known. 

We must be satisfied with the idea, that we shall, 
by and by, in our heavenly state, be like Christ, who 
passed into Heaven, after His resurrection, with 
the body He had on earth ; so changed, however, 
as to be superior to all the ordinary limitations of 
time and space. In that intermediate state, so to 
speak, we shall have immortal, glorified bodies ; 
but what they will be, we cannot now, certainly 
know. Compared to an ever-ending eternity, how- 
ever, this intermediate or disembodied state, is an 
infinitely limited one : though it were a million 
years, it would not constitute a single second 
of eternity. The soul, therefore, will, at length, be 
re-habilitated with a body, which, though spiritual, 
will be analogous to its earthly body ; in which con- 
dition it will remain, time without end. Havino- 
thus, been re-indued with a physical body, an in- 
finitely loving Father will provide everlasting 
habitations — an everlasting home — for it ; where 
its every want will be amply provided for. 

What and where these Heavenly mansions are at 
length to be, it may not be difficult reasonably to 
determine. 



HE A VEN AND HELL. 



95 



What they are, is readily inferrible from what has 
already been said : the physical order of the earth 
beine restored to its original condition, before sin 
deranged it — when it was adapted to the abode of 
innocent, sinless, beings — a happy state, as well, as 
condition of existence otherwise, ensues ; to endure 
as long as eternity itself endures, in unalloyed hap- 
piness and love ; secure in the approbation and care 
of a loving Heavenly Father, whose resources to 
this end, are infinite. 

Where these Heavenly mansions are at length to 
be, is, also, not entirely a matter of speculation. 
The Bible warrants the idea, that by and by, when 
the present dispensation shall have come to an end, 
and the Son of man -shall come in His glory, and 
all the holy angels with Him ; when the resurrec- 
tion is accomplished, and judgment has been pro- 
nounced ; that then, the earth shall be burned up, 
that is, purified by fire, and rendered fit for the 
abode of sinless beings. It deliberately affirms that 
a new heaven and a new earth shall be created, in 
which righteousness shall dwell forever. St. John, 
the revelator, says : — " and I saw a new heaven and 
a new earth ; for the first heaven and the first earth 
were passed away." The word heaven, as here 
used, means the meteorological conditions, so to 
speak — the environment — of the new earth, adapt- 
ed to the changed condition of redeemed souls. 
The expression — new earth — also, means, simply, 
that this earth, purified by fire, shall be render- 
ed fit for the permanent abode of the saints ; who 
have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, and 
will, thereafter, be objects of His care and love for- 



9 6 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



ever. Thus will have been accomplished, in its 
present condition, the apparent mission of the earth 
and its inhabitants : the Garden of Eden, in the 
proper sense of that term, will be restored ; sin 
will have been abolished from the earth ; and so far 
as the latter and its inhabitants are concerned, the 
works of the Devil will be destroyed. 

That this earth, so purified and adjusted, is to be 
the final Heaven of the righteous, is further inferri- 
ble from the fact that the redemptive economy, so 
far as we know anything about it, has been exem- 
plified here. Christ was born upon the earth ; lived 
and died upon it ; was buried in and rose from it ; 
and by all this hallowed it. Because of this ; be- 
cause, also, of the direct affirmations of the Bible to 
this effect, it is fair to say, what, indeed, is the ex- 
treme probability of the case, that this earth, now 
adapted to a sinful condition, will, one day, be re- 
adapted, by fire, to a sinless condition, and become 
the final abode — the final Heaven — of the right- 
eous. 

With regard to the final Hell — the final condition 
of the wicked— there is another view, somewhat 
widely held ; one admittedly, of no little force : — 
the final, utter destruction — annihilation — of the 
wicked, in another life ; after the claims of justice 
have been satisfied, as some say ; and as an exhibi- 
tion of God's mercy and placability, as others say. 

This is at variance with the general course of 
reasoning we have been forced to adopt ; and, as 
we think, to the teaching of scripture. It varies 
from the Socinian view, heretofore referred to, in 
this respect : — the latter holding the doctrine of 



HE A VEN AND HELL. 



97 



restoration, in the future life, as the result of final 
repentance. Both these views spring out of sonic 
of the better impulses of the human heart, and 
require, therefore, thoughtful and, certainly, can- 
did recognition. 

We have already considered the Socinian view, 
sufficiently for our present purpose ; precluding its 
validity, as we think, on ethical principles, as w r ell as 
the word of God : the final destruction — annihila- 
tion — of the wicked is, perhaps more tenable, and 
therefore, more defensible. 

The argument in favor of the latter view, is con- 
sidered to have scripture warrant ; as, by the very 
nature of the punishment referred to, the utter de- 
struction — annihilation — of the wicked must be in- 
ferred. This inference, however, though by no 
means a violent one considering our sensuousness, 
can scarcely well be taken, since the words "de- 
scribing it, though descriptive, rather, of its disas- 
trous nature, include, also, as we apprehend, the 
idea of unending duration. Matthew 25 : 46, reads 
as follows : — 

" And these shall go away into everlasting " or, as 
now rendered, eternal " punishment ; but the right- 
eous into life eternal." 

This language is attributed to our Saviour ; and 
as the words translated " everlasting" and " eter- 
nal," are the same in the Greek, the inference is 
very strong that they have the same meaning. 
Nobody doubts what eternal life means ; how, 
then, can it reasonably be inferred, that the ever- 
lasting or, as now, eternal punishment means any- 
thing less, so far as duration is concerned ? unmis- 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



takably, eternal life, here, means a life of unending 
happiness in Heaven : with equal certainty it 
would seem, everlasting or eternal punishment, 
must mean an unending, conscious, unhappy exis- 
tence, or it could, in no proper sense, be called 
everlasting, or, as the Greek word is here the same, 
aionion or eternal punishment. This is not conclu- 
sive, it is true, and perhaps, so far as mere language 
is concerned, we can get no nearer the absolute 
truth than we now have. The soul, moreover, 
shrinks from the very idea of annihilation ; and we 
are not sure but this deep-seated intuition, is cumu- 
lative proof of our unending existence. On the other 
hand, it may be doubted, that anyone, redeemed by 
grace, would wish, even his bitterest enemy — one, 
perhaps, who had done him an injury, past human 
forgiveness — should be punished forever. Aban- 
doned men might do this — probably would — but 
this cannot be taken as the full measure of judg- 
ment : it is a righteous God that finally judges. 
Were it not for the fact that the interests of the 
Universe are involved at this point — the cosmic re- 
lations of the moral order — it might not be difficult 
to accept this conclusion. 

If, moreover, annihilation be admitted, and that 
that is the punishment referred to, why should not 
annihilation take place at death ? To raise the 
dead, or to keep the living alive, at the judgment 
day, for the purpose of punishment,, though for a 
season only, seems more like vindictiveness than 
anything else. If, however, the view we have 
taken — that Hell is part of the moral order of the 
Universe, in which the welfare of the Universe and 



HE A VEN AND HELL. 



99 



every finite accountable being is involved — be ac- 
cepted, then something like consistency is observed, 
relieving the mind of all vindictive ideas whatever. 

Vindictiveness can, in no sense, be predicated of 
the moral government of God ; retributive justice, 
however, must be. There must be consistency in 
the moral realm ; what is just and right here — in 
this world — is just and right everywhere — in all 
worlds : about this there can be no mistake. Jus- 
tice and righteousness are the habitations of God's 
throne, and must be so, to all eternity. We con- 
clude, therefore, as the sum of all our reasoning, 
that the endless, conscious existence of everyone, in 
a future state, is the doctrine of the Bible,: those 
who have conformed to the moral order, including 
redemption by Christ, in a state or condition of un- 
alloyed happiness ; those who have not conformed 
to the moral order, and have rejected Christ, in a 
punishment, the precise nature of which is not re- 
vealed, but which must be such, as to vindicate, 
fully, the character and attributes of God. 



IOO RETRIBUTION; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE UNPARDONABLE SIN FORE-KNOWLEDGE. 



By an immediate connection of ideas, we are now 
brought to the consideration of the somewhat 
troublesome question of the unpardonable sin, as it 
is generally denominated. 

It is said by some that the unpardonable sin, is 
an entire misconception of religious truth : that, 
indeed, such a sin is impossible. We think this a 
mistake, and a very serious one, at that ; let us en- 
deavor to develope its true character and applica- 
tion. 

We have already seen, that — according to the 
moral order, in which free agency as an absolute 
factor, is involved — a permanently sinful character 
is possible, in this and the future life. As, now, 
the final rejection of proffered grace — of the Holy 
Spirit and His office work in the heart — is possible, 
the unpardonable sin is, necessarily, inferrible. Is 
this at variance with the principle of free agency, 
as involved in the moral order, and so existing in 
the life to come, as well as this ? manifestly not ; it 
confirms it rather : it is, simply, a question — 
whether the will, will, not must, always be disobedi- 
ent — always be hostile, in its manifestation. The 
power to repent, always remains ; simply, there is 
wanting, the disposition — the will to repent. The 



THE UNPARDONABLE SIN. 



lOI 



power and desire of God to forgive, remain the 
same ; but He cannot, according to the moral order 
ordained for the benefit of the Universe, save the 
unrepentent — the permanently sinful and disobedi- 
ent. In this sense, " cannot" has the force of will 
not : — in other words, repentance must precede for- 
giveness : let us see if this view can be supported 
by analogy. 

It is of frequent observation, that a man, by his 
own determined vices, so impairs his physical con- 
stitution, as that neither medicines nor physicians 
can save him : he can only die ; he cannot be saved. 
The skill of the physician may be never so great, 
the medicine never so effective ; simply, the man 
by his own voluntary, persistent, determined, wrong 
doing, against all admonition, and with the full 
knowledge that death will ensue, has placed himself 
beyond the possibility of recovery : — he has com- 
mitted, analogously, the unpardonable sin, against 
his physical constitution. In such a case, medicines 
being unavailable, the physician regretfully with- 
draws himself, and leaves the patient, necessarily, 
to die. 

Again : — it is of occasional, perhaps not infre- 
quent observation, that a man has, as is greatly to 
be feared, so impaired his moral constitution, so to 
speak — his moral sense — by persistent viciousness, 
as that moral considerations, of a redeeming charac- 
ter, cannot be sucessfully addressed to him. He 
cannot be saved — is morally insensible — morally 
dead : he has committed the unpardonable sin, 
against his moral constitution ; against, also, the 
Holy Spirit, and His office work in the heart, and 



102 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



life. The power and willingness of God to save, re- 
main unimpaired ; simply by the resolute determin- 
ation — the set purpose — of his own perverse will, 
he has placed himself beyond the point, where 
moral considerations can reach him — beyond the 
pale of moral recovery. In such a case, the Holy 
Spirit, seeing the person to be morally dead, and 
that further efforts are useless, withdraws Himself, 
and leaves the insensate to his own wicked devices, 
and the doom that inevitably awaits him. 

It is a fearful fact, that the will may be so im- 
paired, that it cannot, as well as will not, act in a 
right direction. We recognize that this — moral in- 
ability, as it is termed — is one of the debatable 
points in theology ; but if it be limited, as above 
indicated, we cannot see how it can well be ob- 
jected to. The view seems in harmony with much 
scripture teaching ; and, also, sad to say, with 
human observation and experience. Men do be- 
come reprobate, by determined purpose ; in which 
situation, spiritual inferences are inoperative, and 
so are withdrawn, entirely : the will, wholly unac- 
customed to right action, has lost its power to act 
right : such persons are given over to believe a lie- 
not merely to simulate, but actually to believe 
a lie. In such a case, it may be objected that the 
person is irresponsible for his or her, thoughts 
or actions : this may be so, after actual im- 
becility has been reached ; but this does not 
limit responsibility for original wrong-doing — for 
deliberately placing one's self in such a position. 
Were it otherwise — could continued wrong-dome 
be atoned for, by resulting imbecility — all that 



THE UNPARDONABLE SIN. 



would be necessary, would be for the transgressor 
to persist to such extremity, and all would be well 
with him. The fallacy involved here, is too plain to 
need further consideration : Hell upon earth, would 
be the result of such a code of ethics. 

The unpardonable sin, then, is such a degradation 
of the moral sense, as that the will either cannot, or 
of set purpose will not, act in a right direction, as 
required by the moral order : it is a rejection of the 
Holy Spirit, and His office work, in heart and life, 
finally, forever. 

God, the Holy Spirit, by His fore-knowledge, 
knowing this in every special instance, withdraws 
Himself, as already stated, and leaves the trans- 
gressor to his own devices — his own determined 
wickedness — and the doom that inevitably awaits 
him. 

There is reason to believe, that this sin, in occa- 
sional instances, is committed before — sometimes it 
is to be feared, long before — the death of the body 
takes place. This agrees with the proposition, al- 
ready noticed, that a permanently sinful character, 
may be established in this life ; which, according to 
the necessary provisions of the moral order, will 

never be changed. 

<_> 

The law thus illustrated, with reference to its 
practical results, is an exceedingly valuable one ; as 
upon it, is also based, all true and valuable charac- 
ter. Virtue insures its own reward ; not merely in 
the ordinary blessings of life, but, also, in the fact 
that it is developed, more and more, by practice ; be- 
comes, more and more, the rule and purpose of life. 
A mind, so accustomed, veers to the truth, as the 



104 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HE II. 



magnetic needle veers to the pole ; obeying a law, 
as it were, that has, by right use, become instinc- 
tive. This law renders all true religious character, 
stable, pure : it is what is meant, properly under- 
stood, by the so-called doctrine of the " perse- 
verance of the saints" — by the "keeping-power," of 
God, as some speak of it. 

In the objective world, also, this law is of ex- 
treme value. In this relation, we speak of it as the 
law of association ; but, so far as secondary causes 
are concerned, the principle involved is the same. 
The first, most important, and the hardest lesson, 
any individual learns, educationally, is the alphabet. 
When this is mastered, combinations of letters — 
words — are, at first, formed and understood, also, 
with great difficulty. Gradually, however, by 
patient practice, the lessons become easier ; till, at 
length, the play of words and ideas, become the 
veriest music to the mind and soul : the intellectual 
treasures of the world, are possible, only by this 
law. The great musicians of the world, become 
such, only, by long and patient practice : at length 
fingers, as in piano-playing, obey mechanically, as it 
were ; responding to musical ideas, because the 
mind has been trained to love them, and practice 
has made them perfect. The law is universal ; ap- 
plying, alas, as we have already seen, to practice in 
a wrong, as in a right direction : the moral order is 
all-embracing — in the physical and in the moral 
world — and as exacting, as all-embracing : if we 
would reach Heaven, we must learn its music on 
the earth ; if we will go to Hell, we must learn its 
fatal lessons here, also. 



FORE-KNO WLEDGE. 



Fore-knowledge. 

The fore-knowledge of God, using this term in 
our finite apprehension of it, is a fact of the utmost 
significance to the Universe. We are aware that 
God's knowledge being infinite, as all His attributes 
are, embraces everything, past, present and future ; 
and so, predicated of Him, the term fore-knowledge 
is not strictly applicable. We use it, however, as 
an accommodation to finite comprehension ; as it 
is used in the Bible, and as, doubtless, we shall be 
understood. 

God's fore-knowledge, we repeat, is a fact of uni- 
versal significance. If He were not possessed of 
this attribute, as some writers tentatively hold. He 
would, in our conceptions of Him, be imperfect. 
We could not think of Him, thus, with undoubt- 
ingr confidence : it would, if a fact, be an element 
of weakness in His character, arousing a distrust in 
all our apprehensions of Him. The human mind 
needs a sure resting place, and we can find it, only, 
in the infinite attributes of God, and their imma- 
nent expression : it will be a sad day for humanity, 
when this confidence is weakened. 

Looking at the material universe, alone, and 
noting the vast and intricate problems involved, 
how is it possible that its projector and maker, 
should not be infinite in His knowledge of what 
was required ? this consideration alone, would seem 
to settle the point. What is — what indeed can 
be — the nature of that knowledge that fore-casts 
the requirements of the physical universe, and so 
arranges them, as that no imperfection exists there- 



Iq6 RETRIBUTION ; CR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



in ? In this respect what is the testimony of 
astronomy ? An eclipse can be calculated, a thou- 
sand years ahead ; our solar system is better 
mapped, and more thoroughly understood, in all its 
relations, than the surface of the earth ; no real im- 
perfection can be detected there. Our earth re- 
volves upon its axis, giving us day and night ; and 
in its orbit around the sun, giving us the various 
seasons of the year : all with unvarying precision, 
scattering blessings over all the earth — a testimony, 
at once, of the love of God, and of His infinite 
knowledge of all finite requirements. 

If distinctions in this respect be proper, it is 
rather in the moral realm^ that this attribute of 
God is of most importance. A misadjustment in 
the material world, might be compensated, in some 
way ; but it is difficult to see how it could be in the 
moral world : failure here would be fatal. We can- 
not, now, as by and by we shall, enter the Council 
Chamber of our loving Heavenly Father, and study 
His laws under His immediate direction ; yet He 
has made our minds and hearts the ante-chambers, 
as it were, of His Kingdom; and here, though a 
vail be over our conceptions, we may get some 
glimpses of His immanent love and power. How 
consoling to reflect that though the counsels of the 
Almighty tax the greatest intellects, the wayfaring 
man, though a fool, need not err therein : — that not 
a sparrow falls to the ground without our Heavenly 
Father's notice ; and that, even the hairs of our 
head are numbered. 

In illustration of the whole subject, let us sup- 
pose there was a time, myriad ages since, when no 



FORE-KNO \V LEDGE. 



IO7 



portion of the material Universe, visible or invisi- 
ble, was in being ; God existing previously, thereto, 
time without beginning, in the society of Himself 
alone, so to speak. Suppose Him, at length, com- 
muning with Himself, as the Bible, at times, 
represents Him, as doing, and saying : — let us now 
enter upon the creation of systems on systems of 
worlds, peopling them with moral and accountable 
beings, as a revelation of ourself. In order to in- 
sure the integrity of such systems, and the welfare 
of the accountable beings we create, we will govern 
them all by our immanent power and love, but 
which shall seem to them universal, unchangeable 
laws. An adequate system of laws, in both the 
physical and moral realm, being provided, creation 
proceeds, culminating in the Universe about us. 
Accommodating ideas to finite comprehension, is 
not this the method absolutely pursued ? Assuming 
its substantial accuracy, what must be the nature of 
that knowledge, which could forecast both the 
physical and moral requirements of the Universe, 
and provide for them with unerring precision ? fore- 
knowledge absolute, is the only proper term, by 
which to characterize it. 

But it will be objected, further, that while the 
fore-knowledge of God may be assumed, with re- 
ference to fundamental laws, it does not necessarily 
follow, that it extends to their detailed application : 
especially is this held, by some, to be true in the 
moral realm, where free agency has so wide a 
sweep. Every conceivable contingency, it is said, 
could not be, and need not be, fore-known: each 
contingency, as it arises, being provided for, under 



I08 RETRIBUTION s OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



general laws that would reach it, an absolute fore- 
knowledge of particulars, in the sense of immediate 
consciousness, is unnecessary. A forcible analogy, 
it is claimed, is seen in the general laws of a state 
or nation : they are adapted to the supposed welfare 
of the governed, but contemplate no individual in- 
stance to their application. 

The reply to all this, is, that earthly legislation, 
for the want of adequate fore-knowledge, is neces- 
sarily imperfect, and requires frequent alteration ; 
while that of the Universe, perfect in inception and 
application, requires no alteration : the relations of 
the state and nation are mutable, and must be re- 
adapted, at times, to intervening exigencies ; those 
of the Universe are immutable, and require no 
re-adaptations. 

But we are not left to our reasoning processes, 
alone, in this highly important matter : — The Bible 
is a revelation of God to man ; revealing to us so 
much of the order of the Universe, and of His own 
attributes and character, as is not revealed in the 
physical realm, nor in the realm of consciousness. 
Everywhere it assumes, as, in instances it directly 
affirms the absolute prescience of God ; descending, 
even, to the falling of a sparrow to the ground, and 
the numbering the hairs of our heads : no language 
could be more forcible ; none more conclusive. 
God's fore-knowledge, therefore, is co-extensive with 
the Universe at large, and reaches to every possible 
detail of it. Infinite wisdom, power, and love, 
guided by infinite knowledge, have adjusted both 
the physical and moral realms, in every conceivable 
detail — past, present, and future : anything short 



FORE- K NO W LEDGE. 



IO9 



of this, would impair our reliance on both the 
physical and moral order ; our confidence in God 
Himself. Rest for the human mind — the human 
soul — we repeat, can only be found in the absolute 
perfection of God and His attributes. 

There is an accommodation of this subject, that 
we will notice briefly : — it is said, by some, that 
while God has the absolute capacity of fore- 
knowledge, He does not always choose to exercise 
it. He has, it is said, the power to recall any 
particular event or occurrence, either in the physical 
or moral realm ; but He only does so, as occasion, 
so to speak, may require : a striking analogy of 
which, it is claimed, is seen in the constitution and 
exercise of the faculty of memory, in man ; recall- 
ing past events, by an effort of the will, through 
what is called the law of association. This il- 
lustration is very interesting, and the law of 
association extremely valuable ; but it must be re- 
membered, that both faculty and law are images, 
only — mere hints, as it were — of the like faculty 
and power of the infinite God. There can be no 
finite powers, where there are no infinite pow- 
ers : bearing this in mind, there can be no finite 
knowledge, where there is not infinite know- 
ledge : the latter stands, in relation to the former^ 
as cause to effect. This distinction, moreover, 
is not, as we think, very important, in any of its 
bearings ; it being an accommodation, merely, 
to finite comprehension. The Bible, as we read 
it, warrants no such adjustment ; and we do not 
see that it helps us to any valuable conclusions, 
with regard to this great subject. On the whole, 
we think it not a wise view to hold. 



I IO 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



ELECTION ; FORE-ORDINATION ; PREDESTINATION J 
TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 



For all the purposes of this discussion, the first 
three of these terms — election, fore-ordination, pre- 
destination — are convertible ; having the sense of 
pre-determination. As the doctrine involved, is one 
of very great importance ; and is at the same time, 
very much maligned, on the one hand, or very 
much misunderstood, on the other ; its careful con- 
sideration is demanded. 

The extreme views of this subject, formerly held, 
biblically unwarranted, cannot for a moment be de- 
fended ; nor is there any real cause to do so, as 
such views, now at least, are almost obsolete. The 
heated discussions that have heretofore been had, 
in regard to this doctrine, are not altogether de- 
plorable. Attrition of thought, subjectively and 
otherwise, is the law of all progress in the intellec- 
tual domain ; in no other way can final truth be 
arrived at : we may deplore mere personalities of 
discussion ; but not discussion, itself. 

There is no warrant, whatever, for the imputa- 
tion, not infrequently heard in former years, that 
the doctrine of election, properly understood, war- 
rants the repulsive idea, that God created a portion 
of the human race, for the special purpose of damn- 



ELECTION. 



I I 1 



ing them — devoting them to an endless punishment 
they are powerless to avoid. 

The doctrine of election, as herein considered 
and defined, and as the Bible reveals it to us, has 
its foundation — its complete sanction — in the moral 
order of the Universe, including, especially the fore- 
knowledge of God. The moral order involves the 
possibility of sin — transgression — but does not deter- 
mine it. God has arranged the moral order, and 
fore-casts transgression, in each and every individ- 
ual case ; but His prescience does not influence the 
transgressor, nor limit his responsibility. 

Transgression — sin — is entirely within the do- 
main of free agency — positive, direct, intentional 
volition — not excepting, even, natural depravity. 
The latter was the result, originally, of voluntary 
transgression ; and as, by the atonement, abundant 
provision has been made for both imputed and^ 
actual transgression, contingent upon personal voli- 
tion, the whole subject is within the scope of the 
voluntary principle : God's fore-kno'vledge, then, 
with respect to individual conduct, determines 
nothing in the moral order ; it, simply, fore-casts all 
possibilities within it. 

As all men, because of inherent natural depravity, 
and direct intention, are transgressors, the impor- 
tant question now is : — in the proper exercise of the 
voluntary principle — in accordance with the moral 
order to this end — who will and who will not be 
saved ? Ample provision having been made for 
this purpose, each individual, if in a normal, re- 
sponsible condition, must decide this question for 
himself ; induced thereto, affirmatively, by every 



I I 2 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A FEN AND HELL. 



motive, both of hope and fear, that can be addressed 
to the human understanding. 

There is no practical difficulty here, arising out 
of incapacity of understanding or otherwise, as the 
gospel is addressed to the feeblest, as well as most 
exalted intellects ; taking all who will, into its 
loving embrace. While it taxes the greatest minds, 
by its munificence ; a way-faring man, though a 
fool, need not err therein : a hearty, voluntary, 
acceptance is all that is required ; and this, all can 
render. 

Let us see if the doctrine in question, can be 
illustrated in a simple way — euphemistically. We 
have already said, that the word election, as used 
in the Bible, has the sense of pre-determination ; 
let us put the matter in different propositional 
forms : — 

God determined, from all eternity, to save them 
that believe — using the latter term in the Bible 
sense, savingly : a universal assent will be given to 
this proposition. 

Again : — God elected, fore-ordained, from all 
eternity, to save them that believe : these two 
propositions are identical in meaning, contingently, 
announcing the same positive result. 

Again : — God determined, from all eternity, not 
to save them that do not, in the sense of will not, 
believe : universal assent, also, will be given to this 
proposition. Changing the sentence a little, we 
have this expression : — 

God elected, fore-ordained, from all eternity, not 
to save them that do not, in the sense of will not, 
believe: these two propositions, also, are identical 



FORE-ORDINA TJON. 



in meaning ; contingently announcing the same 
positive result. 

But again : — with reference to the latter, and in 
order that its full meaning shall not be obscured by 
euphemistic terms — God elected, fore-ordained, from 
all eternity, to damn — to condemn — to punish — 
them that do not, in the sense of will not, believe : 
this proposition, also, is identical in meaning, with 
those previously stated ; announcing, in language 
addressed more particularly to our fears, the same 
positive result. 

What, now, is the meaning of all this ? simply, 
that God, from all eternity, adopted a moral order 
of the Universe ; of which sin, as a possibility, 
punishment therefor, and redemption therefrom, by 
grace, contingent in the case of each individual, 
upon the voluntary principle, are factors. He, by 
His fore-knowledge, knows who will, and who will 
not, of their own free and deliberate choice, believe 
and be saved : but this, in no sense, determines, or 
even influences the will : how can one be influenced 
by a knowledge that is hidden from him entirely, 
and known only to another ? Knowledge is pas- 
sive ; not active : in the case of God and finite, 
accountable beings, infinite and finite knowledge 
directs power, but is not power itself. Powerful 
motives are held out to all, to believe and be saved ; 
but the voluntary desire to be saved must precede 
forgiveness : repentance and saving faith, within the 
reach of all, will insure salvation : the will is the 
seat of moral disorder in the Universe ; this, ab 
extra, is entirely uncontrolled. 



I 14 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



The doctrine of necessity as defended by some, 
is an intellectual fallacy an absurdity unworthy of 
serious refutation : it is an insult to the understand- 
ing — a falsehood intuitively perceived. The will, 
we repeat, is the seat of moral disorder of the 
Universe ; it, and it alone, being the final arbiter, 
in all cases of moral responsibility. 

In the light of what has now been said, how 
irrational are some of the differences between the 
so-called Arminian and Calvanistic churches of 
the day. The intemperate views of former ages, 
have passed away, never to return ; and the time 
has fully come, when there should be a closer union 
of doctrine, sentiment, and feeling. Polity and 
methods have nothing to do with this subject, 
Both are valuable, in their way, and for special 
purposes : they should, therefore, be preserved ; but 
should not be stumbling-blocks to usefulness. 

A generous recognition, in a common bond of 
fellowship, should be exhibited ; as this is demanded, 
alike, by the interests of these eminently useful 
churches ; and by the welfare of the world at large. 
The grand doctrine of free-grace, embracing the 
Universe itself, and every finite accountable, being 
in it, is involved here ; as is the equally grand 
doctrine of election, properly understood : each is 
the complement of the other ; alike indispensable to 
the welfare of the world, and to the integrity of the 
moral order of the Universe. 

Total Depravity. 

This doctrine, also, though of the saddest possi- 
ble significance, yet, if properly understood, will 



TO TA L DEPRA VI T Y. 



1 I S 



be found to have its ultimate sanctions, in the 
moral order of the Universe ; an order, we must 
ever bear in mind, having God for its author, and 
so, because of the perfection of His attributes, 
adapted, necessarily, to the best interests of the 
entire Universe. Evil as a "principle, and sin as a 
possibility, are involved in the moral order, with 
free agency as a fundamental factor : sin hav- 
ing supervened, depravity is the result. Abstractly 
considered, depravity is another name for evil ; 
with this distinction, however, as practically de- 
veloped in the human family — that whereas, 
before sin entered the world, evil was involved in 
the moral order, but was not a natural condition or 
tendency of Adam and Eve, after the latter sinned, 
evil, or, as it is now termed, depravity became the 
normal condition of the entire race ; a tendency to 
which is now universal. Adam and Eve sinned, 
because of temptation from without ; not from 
innate tendencies of their own hearts to evil : this 
distinction should be borne in mind, always, as it is 
a vital point. As God created man he was not only 
sinless, there was no natural tendency in him to evil. 
Man fell only when tempted — deceived — thereto by 
the Devil — a being coming to them as an angel of 
light ; one, who for that reason, they were led to 
believe, was superior to themselves ; and in whom 
they might place reliance : they were over-per- 
suaded, as it were, against their judgment ; against 
their natural desires. Overcome by the influence 
of the Devil, they ate the forbidden fruit, and fell ; 
carrying with them their entire posterity ; all ot 
whom, now, have inherited tendencies to evil. 



I I 6 RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



Natural depravity would . have been the better 
term, by which to have characterized this doctrine ; 
this being the essential idea involved ; truer as a 
matter of fact ; less repulsive to the mind. As 
Adam and Eve were not responsible for evil as a 
principle, as involved in the moral order ; so man, 
now, is not individually or directly responsible, for 
his inherited evil tendencies. Adam and Eve's sin 
consisted in transgressing the moral order as God 
constituted it to be observed — consisted in transla- 
ting evil into sin : for this they were responsible. 
Mankind, also, are not responsible, individually or 
directly, for inherited evil ; but are for translating 
these evil propensities into sinful thoughts and 
practices. This tendency being Universal, and at 
present, unavoidable, a remedy for it is found in 
the vicarious principle ; under the operation of 
which — expiation having been adequately made — 
the tendency may be controlled, in a measure, and 
directed into right channels ; securing, thus, under 
the divine economy to this end, deliverance from 
inherited as well as practical sin. Now, therefore, 
the sin of mankind consists, chiefly, in refusing sal- 
vation from sin, as thus provided — in rejecting 1 
Christ and His atonement ; becoming responsible, 
thus, indirectly, for inherited as well as direct, per- 
sonal sin. In this light, it will be seen, we are 
clearly responsible even for original, or inherited 
sin : not that the latter can be avoided ; but that 
having been amply atoned for, a remedy for it 
is available, which everyone may accept if they will. 
Christ having redeemed us from the consequences 
of sin, the special, overshadowing sin of the race, 



TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 



ccfnsists in rejecting Christ, and the redemption he 
has purchased for us. 

Let us see, if this doctrine, also, can be placed 
in a simple, propositional form, so as to aid us in 
right conclusions in regard tc it : — 

I hold in my hand, an apple , it is rotten from 
centre to circumference ; its entire substance is 
rotten ; it is, as a whole, and with respect to its en- 
tire substance, totally rotten ; analogously, it is, 
as a whole, with respect to its entire substance, 
totally depraved : there is no soundness in it. 

Again : — I hold in my hands several apples ; 
they are all, with respect to their number, more or 
less rotten ; they are, with respect to their number, 
totally rotten ; analogously^ they are without re- 
spect to their number, totally depraved. 

This illustration gives, at once, the different 
meanings of the word ; the true scripture doctrine ; 
and its proper application : it seems strange that so 
much misapprehension should have arisen in regard 
to it. The fact of depravity, as the result of sin, is 
doubted by no sane mind. So far as the human 
race is concerned, it characterizes everyone of them ; 
as every one is depraved by nature, and, after the 
age of accountability, by direct transgression : " no 
man liveth and sinneth not." Natural depravity- 
total with respect to every member of the race ; 
and as to each and every faculty or attribute 
of body, soul, and spirit — is affirmed by reason and 
intuition, as well as by scripture. It may be, 
possibly, that no person ever lived, who was totally 
depraved, as indicated by our first proposition ; and 
yet, if, as heretofore seen, a permanently sinful 



I 1 8 RE TRIE UTION; OR HE A VEN A ND HELL. 



character, may be established in this life ; if the 
moral sense, as also seen in the account of the un- 
pardonable sin, may be so impaired, as* that moral 
considerations, of a redeeming character cannot, 
successfully, be addressed to it, such an illustration 
of depravity, would seem to be possible. However 
this may be, that all men are more or less de- 
praved — with respect to their entire number, and 
with respect to every attribute of body, soul, and 
spirit, totally depraved — no one will question. 

There is, we are aware, a wider sweep to this 
doctrine, than we have thus far given it : — There 
is no neutral ground in morals ; one cannot be 
half right and half wrong : he is either wholly 
right or wholly wrong. Under the redemptive 
economy, also, one cannot be half saved, and half 
condemned : he must be wholly saved, or wholly 
condemned ; is guilty of the whole law, if guilty at 
all The indulgence of one known sin, insures con- 
demnation : exacting as the law is, the welfare of 
the Universe is wrapped up in it. Babel would 
come again, if there were any confusion, even, at 
this point : no truly noble, self-denying, valuable 
character, would be possible, if laxity or uncertainty 
existed here. 

We have said that this doctrine is one of vast 
significance. So far as the human race is con- 
cerned, sin is a fact of experience; the recognition 
of which, in each and every individual case, must 
precede any possible deliverance from it. The 
redemptive economy, as an expression of God's 
love, has its its sanction at this point. Had there 
been no sin, and no depravity as its result, there 



TOTAL DEPRAVITY. 



II 9 



would have been no need of an atonement : Christ 
died to save sinners, not the righteous ; to redeem 
those who are depraved, and who cannot, therefore, 
according to the moral order, save themselves. 
Expiation — the practical expression of the vicarious 
principle — is involved in- the moral order, as a 
factor ; the necessity for which, is natural deprav- 
ity, as the result of sin : it has its origin in the love 
of God ; but finds expression in saving sinners, 
unable, morally, to save themselves. 

Why, we inquire again, evil as a principle and sin 
as a possibility, are involved in the moral order, 
we do not know — possibly never shall know : it is 
enough for us that it is so involved ; and that its 
results are painfully apparent, on every hand. That 
some great purpose of love is subserved by this 
adjustment, is necessarily inferrible, from the char- 
acter of God Himself; all whose attributes/ in- 
finite in nature, will always be exercised in the 
line of His own character, which is righteousness. 

The perfection of the moral order, is seen in the 
fact, that in accordance with His divine attributes, 
God has provided a full remedy for sin. As we 
have seen, expiation is the remedy ; though why or 
how it is so, we may never know — possibly here, 
also, it is best we never should know. In this, as in 
other respects, we now have ground for the exercise 
of faith : in this state of existence, at least, this is 
best for us. A trustful confidence, stopping short 
of credulity, is one of the most excellent traits of 
character : in its proper expression, it concerns our 
welfare to the last decree ; no conceivable relation 
in life, would be tolerable in its absence. It lies at 



I 20 RETRIBUTION OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



the bottom of almost all our business relations ; 
society would be a hell on earth without it : it is of 
fundamental importance. 

There is such a thing as knowing too much. 
The wise-man says — " he that increaseth knowledge, 
increaseth sorrow : " predicated of some kinds of 
knowledge this is true. In the realm of sin, there is 
much that we had better never know ; with respect 
to God, and His government of the Universe, much 
that we never can know. Failure on the part of 
Adam and Eve, to recognize this important dis- 
tinction, precipitated the calamity of sin. Had they 
trusted God, and declined the forbidden fruit of 
knowledge, they and their children, would have 
been comparatively happy. 

The knowledge thus acquired was, in one sense, 
from the Devil ; they would have been better off 
without it : it not only did not increase their happi- 
ness, it subverted it. 

There is much knowledge still in the world, of 
diabolical origin and character ; it were better to be 
without it : such knowledge subverts happiness, and 
generally defiles both life and character. 

Permissible knowledge, too, had better be ac- 
quired, oftentimes, by indirect rather than by direct 
means. A few drops of Prussic acid, will kill a man 
in a few moments ; it is better to acquire a know- 
ledge of this fact, by information, than by personal 
experience. It is well to know that fire will burn ; 
but it would not be wise, to plunge into an intensely 
heated furnace, to be assured of it ; we had better 
gain our knowledge in some other way. 



TO TA L BE PR A VITY. 



I 2 I 



So in regard to the problem of evil ; the full 
reason for it, has not been revealed to us : has been, 
rather, withheld from us ; and that in our own inter- 
est. Had it been best for us to know all about it, 
God would surely have revealed it to us. We are 
children — God's children : He knows all our wants, 
and also our weaknesses ; and has accommodated 
Himself to both, in the best possible manner. For 
what is not revealed to us, He simply asks us to 
have faith in Him, and His infinite goodness and 
love : this is our sure ground of confidence ; we 
can have no other. The ultimate reason of all 
things is God Himself. 



122 RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



CHAPTER IX. 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES : ENOCH ; THE FLOOD ; THE 

CONFUSION OF TONGUES ; THE EXODUS ; JOSHUA 
COMMANDING THE SUN AND MOON TO STAND 
STILL ; SAMSON ; SAMUEL ; ELIJAH ; HEZEKIAH 
AND THE RECESSION OF THE SHADOW ON THE 
DIAL OF AHAZ ; DANIEL ; JESUS, THE CHRIST. 



The doctrine of special providences, is a stumbling- 
block to many very worthy people , a rock of offence, 
not to be forgiven, to others : we devote a little at- 
tention to it, not so much to defend, as to illustrate 
it, in a few instances. 

It seems scarcely necessary to say, that one who 
believes in creation, must, of necessity, believe in a 
continuous providence ; since to deny the latter, in- 
volves a palpable contradiction. The power that 
caused creation, must be exerted to continue its ex- 
istence. This is true, philosophically, of any theory 
of any creation — even of one so ridiculous as the 
atheistic theory of evolution. Upon the latter 
theory, so far as organized beings are concerned, 
spontaneous generation, though only one or a few 
of the lowest forms are originated by it, forever 
thereafter, requires the law of natural selection and 
survival of the fittest, illustrating the same power, 
to continue the process of preservation and devel- 
opment : spontaneous generation, then, may be 
spoken of as the general providence or god of 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



I23 



evolution ; natural selection and survival of the 
fittest^ as its particular providence — its exemplifica- 
tion in special cases. 

As in this case, so with respect to the creative 
theory, as it is specially distinguished: — God is the 
immediate author of creation ; and His power, wis- 
dom, justice, and love — attributes involved in crea- 
tion in the first instance — are necessary to its 
integral continuance. 

The principle involved here, is too plain to require 
elaborate notice : a general providence must, of 
necessity, be made up of particular providences. 
Of what use would it be, to make general laws for 
the government of a state or nation, if they were 
not to be executed, in particular cases ? the ques- 
tion is answered by asking it : the same power that 
authoritatively passed the laws, must be continuous- 
ly exerted, through suitable instrumentalities to that 
end, to enforce them ; without which civil society 
could not exist. Civil government is divinely or- 
dained : is God's instrumentality for governing 
mankind. As our creator, He has given us capaci- 
ties for this purpose, and holds us responsible for 1 
their proper exercise. Particular forms are not or- 
dained, as these are to spring out of the exigencies 
of national life. 

The true idea of this subject, is the immanence 
of God, both in creation and providence : He created 
us ; He upholds us ; The uniformity of His govern- 
ment, inspires, in us, the idea of law ; and, for all 
practical purposes, this is well. Law, however, can- 
not be predicated of God ; as the very idea involves 
a power above, and superior to, Himself ; mani- 



124 RE TRIB UTION; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



festly, this is an absurdity. God, then, governs this 
and all worlds, by His immanent power, guided by 
infinite knowledge, wisdom, justice, and love ; and 
not by anything which, as applicable to Him, can 
properly be called law. Thus defined, the doctrine 
of special providences, as we conceive of the latter, 
is easily understood : — God is everywhere present, 
upholding and guiding all things — by His immedi- 
ate power, always ; but through what seem to us 
secondary causes. 

It will be objected, at this point, that this reason- 
ing makes God the author of sin ; relieving man- 
kind from all responsibility for it. If, however^ it 
be recalled, that though evil, as a principle, is in- 
A T olved in the moral order, sin is not — save as a 
possibility — the objection will be seen to be unten- 
able ; difficult, as it is, to adjust our conceptions to 
it. God originally constituted the moral order with- 
out sin ; constituted, also, finite, responsible beings, 
who alone will be the authors of sin, so that they could 
preserve the moral order, as He ordained it, if they 
would. Even, now, under the redemptive economy, 
and the provisions of grace to this end, the con- 
sequences of sin may be wholly avoided ; God, 
therefore, is not the author of sin, nor in any way 
whatever responsible for it : As He created the 
moral order sin is at variance with it ; and can only 
come into existence, by the transgression of a finite, 
responsible being. 

Though, as we have seen, God is, in no respon- 
sible sense, the author of sin; yet, as sin, as a possi- 
bility, is involved in the moral order, He has, in 
accordance with His infinite compassion and love, 



SPECIAL PRO VIDENCES. I 2 5 

foreseeing that transgression, in instances at least, 
would ensue, provided a remedy for it, founded 
upon the vicarious principle. - Expiation having 
been made, through our Lord and Savior — Jesus, 
the Christ , the anointed one for that purpose- 
priest and king of the moral order — notwithstanding 
sin has supervened, its consequences may be avoid- 
ed ; transgressors maybe saved : motives of infinite 
import are held out to this end ; and if the sinner 
be lost, he, and he only, is to blame. 

As bearing upon this principle of expiation and 
restoration, look at some of the adjustments of the 
physical world : — The air that we breathe so deli- 
cately yet so effectively adapted to vital purposes, 
is composed of about twenty-one parts oxygen, and 
seventy-nine parts nitrogen. If, now, these definite 
relations are disturbed even to a slight degree, its 
vitalizing properties are impaired ; and if consider- 
ably deranged, the death of air-breathing animals, 
man included, ensues. In the process of breathing, 
the oxygenous portion of the air, for the indispen- 
able purpose of vitalizing the blood, as the latter 
reaches the lungs, is separated from the azotic or 
nitrogenous element ; leaving thus, to be exhaled, 
a mephitic gas, fatal to animal life. 

As this process of breathing goes on all over the 
world, among the lower animals as well as mankind; 
and as other extensive processes are engaged in de- 
ranging the elements of the air, if restorative pro- 
cesses, also, were not in equivalent exercise, animal 
life of every kind, would become extinct. These 
gases,however, by natural and amply effective adjust- 
ments to this end, are taken up by other forms 



I 26 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



of existence, to which they, in turn, are necessary ; 
restoring, thus, the vitalizing properties of the air: 
thus goes on, the grand process of expiation and 
restoration, in the natural world. 

Numerous examples of similar import, might be' 
referred to, as the natural world teems with them : 
fecundity would deluge the world, if destruction 
did not ensue. Animals, as races, live upon and 
destroy each other ; individual races die, that other 
races may live — the older of all races die, at 
length, that the younger may live — the races be con- 
tinued. As with the lower animals, so with man : 
death, in a restricted, yet eminently significant sense, 
is the salvation of all — the only way, as matters 
now are, by which the race can be saved. Expia- 
tion ; restoration : This is the order of God's provi- 
dence, even in the physical world. 

As in the physical, so in the moral realm, the 
immanence of God, is the sure foundation, on 
which all our intercourse with, and relations to, 
Him, are based. A keen recognition of this fact, is 
seen in the sense of dependence, so deeply implant- 
ed in every heart ; finding expression in fears as 
well as hopes : We feel our helplessness ; and re- 
cognizing that there is a power above us, able to 
supply all our needs, we look up to it — to our loving 
Heavenly Father — as little children do to their 
earthly parents. God is our Father : He has re- 
vealed Himself to us, in this tender relation ; and 
authorizes us to expect special blessings at His 
hands. 

The Bible is rich with this thought, from begin- 
ning to end : everywhere, fatherhood is its funda- 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



mental, controlling idea. God so loved the world 
as to give His only son to die for it : The cross of 
Christ exemplified this fact ; human conduct even, 
not seldom illustrates it. The family relation on 
earth, is intended to express, as well as to teach— 
illustrate, rather- — this grand, central truth : good 
fathers will do and suffer anything for those they 
love. 

They will govern them, by something like gen- 
eral laws ; but will listen, eagerly, to the expression 
of their wants, and hasten to comply with them 
where they properly can. 

Will our loving Heavenly Father, do less than 
this, for His little ones ? 

Let us now notice a few cases, bearing- on the 
doctrine we are considering : — we have already 
spoken of the case of Enoch, but will refer to it 
again. The tendency, in modern times, to explain 
everything in the Bible, on what are denominated 
rational grounds, is quite marked ; and hence there 
are many, even among those who believe the Bible 
to be the divinely inpired word of God, who explain 
the phrase — " and was not for God took Him" — to 
refer to the natural death of Enoch, and not to his 
translation ; and this, notwithstanding the fact, 
that the New Testament directly affirms his trans- 
lation, so that he should not see death. 

Aside from the authority of the Bible, which 
ought to be held conclusive, if the reasoning here- 
tofore indulged, be at all well-founded, such an 
interference with the ordinary course of events, as 
exhibited in the case of Enoch, was to have been 
expected. Further on we shall see, that death is, 



I 28 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HEIL. 



not unfrequently, an angel of mercy ; as indicated 
by the prophet Isaiah, in one of his apparently 
rapt moments of inspiration — Isaiah 57-1 — where 

he says : — 

" The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it 
to heart ; and merciful men are taken away, none 
considering that the righteous is taken away from 
the evil to come." 

Beyond all doubt, the case of Enoch was intended 
as an example to the world ; but, as God never does 
anything arbitrarily, a reverent inquiry into the 
circumstances, in which Enoch was placed, will help 
us to other most valuable conclusions ; demonstrat- 
ing, as it undoubtedly does, the loving interference 
of God, even in death, as indicated in the prophetic 
annunciation we have quoted. 

The brief record that we have of Enoch's life and 
character, is found in the fifth chapter of Genesis, 
which is entirely taken up with the genealogy of 
Adam, through the godly line of Seth — the substi- 
tute for Abel — down to, and including Noah ; the 
genealogy of Cain being given in the preceding 
chapter. 

The descendants of Cain, the elder brother, were 
called sons of men ; having in them an instinct for 
wickedness, which can only be accounted for, on 
special, hereditary grounds. 

The descendants of Seth — the latter born when 
Adam was a hundred and thirty years old — 
were called sons of God ; having, in them, only 
such evil tendencies, as were directly inherited from 
their common father — Adam — and which are com- 
mon to the race. 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



By and by, however, " the sons of God saw the 
daughters of men, that they were fair, and took to 
themselves wives, of all that they chose." In this 
way the entire race, save here and there a single 
godly family, became infused with the devilish in- 
stinct, that characterized the descendants of Cain ; 
introducing, thus, a degree of corruption, never 
paralleled since, in human history. So utterly pol- 
luted had the race become, that recovery was im- 
possible ; and in the exercise of mercy, as well as 
justice, God determined to blot them out of exis- 
tence : save only, a single family, who were to be 
pure descendants of Seth, and so uncontaminated, 
racially. 

Living thus, surrounded by a race wholly given 
up to the most degrading and polluting practices — 
a society from which all semblance of restraint had 
been banished ; abandoned, hopelessly, to vice and 
sin, in their most brutal and devilish forms — what 
must have been the suffering, mental and spiritual, 
of this pure-hearted, spiritually-minded, God-fear- 
ing, God-loving, man ? the very statement of the 
case, is calculated to arouse the tenderest, as well 
as the deepest sympathy, Is it any wonder, then, 
that a loving Heavenly Father, witnessing, as 
Enoch walked with Him, day by day, the suffering 
of His child, should translate him to His own dear 
home on high ? Earthly parents would do as much 
as this for their loved ones, where circumstances 
called for it ; how much more probable, that God 
should illustrate His affection, in a similar manner. 

But, the question will be asked, why not take him 
to Heaven in the ordinary manner — by death ? 



I 30 RETRIBUTION j OR HE A VEN AND HELL, 



Reasons are not important here, but they are at 
hand nevertheless : — Enoch was yet a young man, 
having not lived out half his days ; he was a 
good man, walking with God daily, the only con- 
genial society he had ; he craved personal so- 
ciety, as all good men do : men, in that dispen- 
sation, lived to a great age ; death was known 
to be the penalty of sin, but, as yet, there was little 
experience of it ; possibly, quite probably indeed, 
Enoch had had no observational knowledge of death 
at all : Why; then, should God allow him to die a 
natural death ? rather, why should not God speci- 
ally mark His approbation of Enoch's character and 
conduct, bv translating him without enduring the 
pangs — the penalty — of death ? God manifest- 
ed His love to Enoch in this way, in justice to His 
own divine tenderness of affection : in mercy, as 
well as justice, to His suffering child : who -was 
walking so earnestly with Him, under circumstances 
so difficult, so sorrowful. 

The example of Enoch, moreover, is one of value 
to all ages : — it tells the story of God's overshadow- 
ing care and love, at all times and under all circum- 
stances ; and that He interferes with what appears 
to be the established order of His providence, where 
the welfare of His children will be promoted by it. 
Has His loving kindness changed, in this respect ? 
we think not. Under the present dispensation — 
since Christ died, and the canon of scripture was 
completed — there is no special need for examples 
of this kind ; yet now, as in the days of Enoch and 
Elijah, God undoubtedly interferes for a similar 
purpose : removing by death, many of his dear 



SPECIAL PRO VIDENCES. 



ones, who are circumstanced in a like unfortunate 
manner. 

Other than immortal life, death is the greatest 
blessing ever conferred upon mankind ; the former 
can only be reached through the latter ; to those 
redeemed by grace the grave is the open door, as it 
were, to Heaven, not the dark place our imagina- 
tion depicts it. 

O, Death ! where is thy sting ? 
O, Grave ! where is thy victory ? 

The Flood. 

One of the most remarkable interferences with 
the so-called established order of things in the 
world, is the flood, whether it be considered partial 
or general : We incline to the former view, though 
there are not wanting powerful arguments in sup- 
port of the latter. The important fact, however, is; 
that the human race, for reasons heretofore consid- 
ered, had become so polluted — so debased, here- 
ditarily — as that recovery was impossible : its re- 
demption, therefore, according to the moral order 
as established by God, could not be accomplished, 
and so God determined to destroy them with a 
flood. 

To save — redeem — a race of devils, is not ac- 
cording to the moral order ; human justice would 
revolt at such a fact — at a code of ethics that would 
sustain such an enormity. The Ante-diluvians, 
with rare exceptions, had illustrated the unpardon- 
able sin, physically and morally : they could only 
die — they could not be saved. The flood, while it 
destroyed the Ante-diluvians, in a subordinate yet 



I32 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



highly significant sense, saved the race at large. 
God's mercy, as well as justice, is seen here ; His 
character and attributes are fully justified ; His im- 
manent providence illustrated. 

Confusion of Tongues. 

The next providential intervention we will men- 
tion, is the confusion of tongues, at the tower of 
Babel ; the brief account of which, is written in the 
eleventh chapter of Genesis. This event took place, 
according to our bible-chronology, about 2247 
years before Christ, and something more than a 
hundred years after the flood. The population at 
this time, consisted of Noah and his family, who 
were still living, and their descendants : their num- 
ber, therefore, could not have been very great ; nor 
could they have been widely scattered. The unity 
of the race, as a controlling intention, was unbroken; 
and, as, moreover, they spoke a common language, 
they dreaded separation ; not being able, possibly 
unwilling, to realize, that this was not only the com- 
mand of God to Adam and Noah, and so to them, 
but that their best interests, also, were involved 
therein. Then, as now, experience will be the most 
effective, and salutary teacher. The world must be 
replenished ; even the isles of the sea must be in- 
habited, and so wait for God's law : this is a com- 
mand, not merely ; it is the interest of the race — 
in a measure, its salvation. 

In this emergency, a divine intervention — a 
special providence, out of the established order, as 
conceived by us — must be resorted to to bring about 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



133 



a result, the race were partially unable, and partial- 
ly unwilling to accomplish. God's plan to this end, 
was the confusion of tongues, as it is generally 
spoken of : — Their language must be confused; their 
gutterals and other powers of speech remodeled ; 
their instincts and intentions re-constructed ; their 
color and other race-peculiarities changed ; so 
that they could not understand, not only, but should 
be afraid of, and so flee from, each other ; forced 
on to the uttermost parts of the earth, by impulses 
which neither they, nor we, can fully comprehend. 
Like impulses sway the race to-day ; a standing 
monument to this special providential interference 
in human affairs — the immanence of God in history. 
By this means, not by the contemptible folly of 
evolution, or even of climatic influences, powerful 
as the latter are, the distinctive races of mankind 
were constituted ; adapted by constitutional pecu- 
liarities, to the inhabitation of all parts of the earth 
— tropical, temperate, frigid, insular, continental. 
The antithesis of this event, and its consequences, 
will be seen further on, when we come to speak of 
our Savior, and the day of Pentecost. 



The Exodus. 

Selecting, here and there only, such conspicuous 
examples of special providences as occur to us, we 
notice, next, the Exodus, so called, the career of 
the children of Israel : a human drama without a 
parallel, in post-diluvian history. The whole ac- 
count, from the calling of Abraham, in Ur of the 
Chaldees, to the final destruction of Jerusalem and 



134 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



the dispersion of the race after the crucifixion, is 
tragic beyond all example. The hand of God is 
plainly seen in every individual tribal, and national 
movement ; and with a distinctness and promin- 
ence, leaving nothing at all to mere inference. Who 
can read the account, without the intensest convic- 
tion that God rules in the affairs of men, as 
in the armies of Heaven ? that He who " num- 
bereth the stars and calleth them all by name," but 
who, at the same time, notices the falling of a spar- 
row to the ground, and numbereth the very hairs 
of our heads, upholds, as well as creates, all things? 
that He knows our very thoughts, and takes ac- 
count of our down-sitting and our up-rising? 

Particulars we may not notice, as this would 
lead us entirely too far ; a few points, only, will en- 
gage attention : — 

Abram was seventy-live years old, when he de- 
parted out of Haran ; previous to which. God had 
called him to go into a land which he would show 
him. He went blindfold, as it were, and God led 
him. How improbable it must have seemed to 
Abram that he should, according to promise, be the 
father of a great nation, considering that at the 
first announcement of covenant blessings, both he 
and his wife were, even then, advanced in years. As 
year after year rolled by, and the promised blessing 
was not realized, is it surprising that, at last, when 
the promise was finally ratified, and its fruition near 
at hand, and when both Abram and Sarah were 
well advanced in their long and hitherto childless 
life, that the former should have doubted, some- 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



135 



what, or that the latter should have laughed at the 
very suggestion ? 

Wonderful providence ; wonderful intervention : 
Sarah conceived ; Isaac was born ; and though the 
latter was the only son of promise, Abram — now 
Abraham — ever had, how amply has God justified 
His covenant : the whole course of human history, 
since, attests the grand consummation. 

Isaac had two children only, Esau and Jacob ; so, 
yet, the promised blessing is not fully realized ; no 
sure foundation, apparently, is laid for a great nation, 
even with reference to the merely human aspect of 
the covenant. Jacob, however, after a career of 
peculiar vicissitudes, some of which are not by any 
means defensible, ethically, is the father of a 
numerous family ; which, during a providential de- 
tention in Egypt of some hundreds of years, devel- 
opes into a considerable nation. 

Made slaves during their stay in Egypt, Moses is, 
at length, raised up as their deliverer ; who, after a 
series of miraculous inflictions upon Pharaoh, the 
King, and upon the inhabitants and land, leads 
them, guided by a pillar of cloud by day, and a 
pillar of fire by night, on their way to the promised 
land. The sea divides its waters to give them safe 
passage ; the waters return, again, to overwhelm 
their pursuers : Water from the smitten rock, slakes 
their thirst; Manna from Heaven spreads itself, 
daily, upon the ground ; and so, for forty years, 
they are , lead by the immediate hand of God, 
through an arid wilderness, where, except for a 
special providence of unremitting manifestation, the 



I36 RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



entire race would have died, in a few days or weeks 
at most. 

When, at length, after all had died, who were 
twenty years old and upward when they left Egypt 
— a providential fact of much significance, consider- 
ing the idolatrous and slavish habits and associa- 
tions, that had been formed in Egypt — the children 
of Israel, now numbering some millions, had reached 
the eastern bank of the river Jordan, near the upper 
end of the Dead Sea. Moses, who was then one 
hundred and twenty years old, and who was not, by 
divine arrangement, to pass over into Canaan, after 
full instructions to the Israelites, by direction of 
God went up to the top of Pisgah or Mount Nebo, 
where, after viewing the promised land, as he was 
permitted to do, he died, and was buried by God 
Himself. 

The remarkable history of the Israelites, after 
they passed the river Jordan, under Joshua, down 
to their final dispersion, is the most wonderful of 
any in human annals ; every page of it illustrating 
the immediate, personal, direction of God. Passing 
over, generally, the rich instruction thus afforded 
us, let us briefly notice the case of 

Joshua Commanding the Sun and Moon 
to Stand Still. 

The account of this transaction, and the circum- 
stances attending it, will be found in the 10th Chap- 
ter of Joshua; a reverent examination of which, 
will explain its necessity, and remove all reasonable 
doubt about it. 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



137 



Let it be remembered, that the children of Is- 
rael, had now been forty years in the wilderness, 
and had had but little military experience, so to 
speak ; and as they were now to enter upon exten- 
sive wars, with numerous tribes of warlike men, and 
under relatively most unfavorable circumstances, 
they needed objective support to what we may well 
suppose was their hesitating, wavering faith : need- 
ed supernatural interventions — something entirely 
out of the ordinary course of events — to encourage 
and sustain them, 

Joshua, only a few weeks before, had led the 
children of Israel across the river Jordan ; and 
though Jericho had fallen by supernatural means, 
and Ai had been taken by 'stratagem ; yet the peo- 
ple had had no such recent, extraordinary manifes- 
tations. of God's care and protection, as deeply im- 
pressed them. They were prone to forgetfulness, 
also, and required, as indeed all men do, line upon 
line, and precept upon precept. Special, supernatu- 
ral manifestations were required, from time to time, 
and more especially now, in this unusual crisis of 
their history. The pillar of cloud by day, and of 
fire by night, no longer accompanied them ; the 
manna of the wilderness, was no longer their sup- 
port ; and they felt somewhat as children do, when 
suddenly deprived of earthly parental care. The 
vail of the temple, moreover, symbol of that which 
was then — under the old, objective dispensation — 
over all men's hearts and minds, was not yet rent 
in twain ; there was, as yet, in the full meaning of 
that term, no " open vision ; " the holy of holies 
was not yet visible ; Christ, the anointed, who 



I38 RE TRIB UTION; OR HE A VEN A ND HELL, 

should combine all symbols in one, and unshackle 
all men's minds and hearts, giving wings to faith, as 
never before, had not yet come ; the Holy Ghost, 
the inspirer of faith, who was to take the place of 
Christ, and be forever in the world — in throbbing 
human hearts —was not yet vouchsafed ; what 
wonder, then, that the God they worshipped and re- 
vered — the Jehovah of their feeble faith — should 
seek, by the most impressive manifestations, to en- 
courage and sustain them. 

Joshua, as the faithful ally of the Gibeonites, 
notwithstanding they had deceived him, had just 
defeated the five kings of the Amorites, one of 
whom reigned in Jerusalem ; and to encourage his 
own people, and strike terror into the hearts and 
minds of his enemies, with that boldness with which 
God always inspires His obedient, loving, children, 
and the execution, doubtless, of divine direction, he 
commands the sun and moon to stand still ; " and 
the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the 
people had avenged themselves of their enemies : " 
"And there was no day like that, before it or after 
it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man; 
for the Lord fought for Israel." 

How this was brought about, we may not dog- 
matically decide ; it is enough for us to know, that 
God has infinite resources at His command. There 
was but one object to be accomplished by this mani- 
festation of supreme power, to wit, to inspire confi- 
dence in the hosts of Israel, and dread in the hearts 
of their enemies : this was accomplished. 

It will be objected, as indeed it often is, that this 
involves the idea that the earth, for a whole day, 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



l 39 



ceased to revolve on its axis ; and, therefore, that 
the account cannot be true. But this problem, so 
far as adequate power is concerned, is a very simple 
one : — the resources of a universe, are in God's 
hands ; is there any difficulty, then, in conceiving 
that he could arrest the motion of the earth on its 
axis, without interfering in the slightest degree, 
with its astronomical or other adjustments? If He 
created, can He not control all worlds ; is it, really, 
any more difficult to conceive of the latter, than the 
former ? 

Whether this were done or not, we do not cer- 
tainly know. God could have otherwise produced 
the appearance if he chose: He might have revealed 
Himself, momentarily, in that form, had he chosen 
to do so, obscuring both sun and moon by His 
brightness, as He did in the case of Saul of Tarsus; 
or He might have produced the effect, which was 
all that was required, in some other way. In any 
way that it was accomplished, it was the immediate, 
divine intervention of God — a special providence 
of most marked and decisive character. Viewing 
the matter in the light of the present dispensation, 
when, to all unpervertecl and rightly disposed 
minds, it is easier to believe in the supernatural 
than the natural — the latter springing out, as it in- 
evitably must, of the former — we are led to believe, 
that it was the revelation, for the time being, of 
God Himself, obscuring, entirely, the sun and moon 
by His brightness, that produced the effect. To 
this view, it has been objected to the author, by a 
clerical friend, not less eminent for a cultured un- 
derstanding, than for spiritual attainments and de- 



I40 RETRIBUTION ; OR BE A VEN AND HELL. 

votion, that it would have been deceptive, and not 
in accordance with God's character. We cannot 
think so, not merely for the reasons already sugges- 
ted ; but, also, because the principle is variously 
illustrated in the Bible : did occasion serve, this po- 
sition might be abundantly sustained. We recognize 
the danger, intellectually and otherwise, of pushing 
this principle too far ; yet, nevertheless, within 
reasonable limits, it is a valuable one, and cannot, 
therefore, be dispensed with : Some of the illustra- 
tions of the Bible, would be inexplicable, and their 
teaching impaired, without it. 

Samson — His Birth and Life. 

One experiences a peculiar pleasure — a grim one, 
it must be confessed — as he contemplates the his- 
tory and character of this strong man ; illustrating, 
as he does, not only the providential care of God, 
but human weakness as well. We are, all of us 
perhaps, a little pleased that we are not the only 
peccable, perhaps not the only weak or silly ones, 
in the world. We would rather, our imperfections 
were not peculiar to - ourselves. A man must be a 
poor observer of human character and conduct, who 
has not seen this illustrated in many ways. It is an 
unamiable trait — a devilish trait, perhaps we ought 
to say— first exhibited in the Garden of Eden ; and, 
sad to say, continuously exemplified since : he is a 
very w T ise man indeed, who is entirely exempt from 
its influence. 

Samson was born about 1161 B. G, during the 
period of the Judges ; one of which he subsequently 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



became ; the Israelites being, at the time and be- 
cause of their sins against God, in political bondage; 
to the Philistines ; who held them, in all, for forty 
years. Samson was raised up, to lay the founda- 
tions of their deliverance ; and in this light, must 
all his history be read : his birth was attended with 
supernatural circumstances ; and his entire life was 
an illustration of providential interventions. 

As an episode injected into human history, it is 
remarkable ; some of its incidents being farcical, as 
well as tragic : there is no other character in Bible 
history, of which this can be so truthfully said : no 
one, perhaps, so difficult to be fully comprehended. 

We think of him as a great, over-grown, physi- 
cally strong, generous, rude, rollicking, and, at times, 
weak boy ; and yet, as all scripture is given by in- 
spiration, a careful study of Samson's life, will re- 
veal, we think, sqme valuable lessons for us all, a 
few of which, only, can we notice. 

One of the best evidences of the divine inspira- 
tion of the Bible, is, that while it grows out of, and 
is specially applicable to current conditions of life, 
at the time its several parts were written ; it con- 
tains principles that are valuable at all times, and 
under all circumstances : this is a lesson that every 
one must learn, who would study the Bible under- 
standing^. One great object of the Bible, is to 
provoke thought, so it be reverently exercised. God 
must be revealed slowly to human conceptions ; or, 
as in Saul of Tarsus' case, we shall be blinded by 
the sight. Revelation is a never-ending unfolding 
of the infinite — a continuous coming into beine, of 
divine possibilities : in this is our happiness, as well 



I42 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEiV AND II ELI. 



as our safety. Gradual permissible acquisition, not 
full fruition, is the sure basis of human happiness : 
we could not endure the full blaze of God's glory at 
once. 

The first thing that attracts attention, is the su- 
perhuman announcement of Samson's birth ; the ac- 
count of which, will be found in the 13th Chapter of 
judges, affording an instructive study in many ways. 
We have already indicated the politically en- 
slaved condition of the Israelites, at the time ; and 
if the customs of war and of conquering tribes, in 
those days, be remembered and reflected on, it will 
readily be inferred, that the slavery, so to speak, of 
the nation, was both vigorous and exacting. 

The age was rude and barbarous ; and conquered 
tribes, if not slain, were always made hewers of 
wood and drawers of water to their conquerors ; 
mercy to the conquered, was scarcely known. The 
example of the children of Israel in Egypt, illus- 
trates the universal custom : other conquered na- 
tions, as well as they, must make bricks, even 
without straw. 

The domination of the Philistines — a powerful, 
warlike tribe — continued for forty years, in all ; and 
the time had now come, when God was to prepare 
the way for the deliverance of His people. 

In an age when superhuman manifestations — 
divine, and to some extent, undivine — were possi- 
ble, and with respect to the former of frequent oc- 
currence, no great result could be brought about 
without them. The dispensation was a faithless 
one ; men's minds being darkened by sin, the vail 
of which had not yet been rent in twain. Evil 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



143 



spirits and influences had large control of the race ; 
and these could only be overcome, by constant 
miraculous interventions on the part of God. 
God will not abandon His children, degraded as 
they are ; and, in time, will liberate and re- 
deem them : premonitions -of the coming glories of 
the new dispensation ; the atonement by Christ ; 
and pentecostal reconstruction of the powers and 
capacities of the human soul. Before Christ, relig- 
ion — God's law — was not written, save in shadow, 
in men's hearts and understandings — it was largely 
objective ; limitedly subjective : superhuman inter- 
ventions, then, are important. 

To prepare the way, therefore, for the liberation 
of the Israelites ; and as an instructive lesson, also, 
to all mankind ; a divine being appears to Mahoah 
and his wife — the latter first, because, perhaps, of 
woman's more spiritually apprehensive nature — and 
announces the birth of a son ; accompanying the 
announcement, with outward evidences of divine 
authority and approbation, that engaged and con- 
firmed their faith. The mission of the promised 
child, was also announced ; and directions were 
given, with respect to intervening circumstances, and 
the child's subsequent life. This fully prepared the 
favored family, for the course they were to pursue ; 
and confirmed their faith, in the somewhat miracu- 
lous character and life cf the child : subsequent 
events fully sustain their confidence ; vindicatine. 
at once, their faith, and the special providence of 
God. 

Thus far, what valuable lesson do we, even under 
another and brighter dispensation, learn from this 



I 44 RE TRIE UTIONj OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



event ? Let pious, God-fearing, God-loving, fathers 
and mothers, reflect upon it ; and learn, that now, 
as then, God's immanence is previsioned, even in 
the tenderest relations : that these, indeed, are ob- 
jects of His peculiar solicitude. Now, more than 
then, may it truthfully be said of children — " of such 
is the Kingdom of Heaven." Fathers and mothers 
are ministers at this holy alter : they, too, as Man- 
oah and his wife did, if their faith be strong enough, 
shall see the flame of God's love, ascend heaven- 
ward ; and His immanent prevision, protection and 
care, illustrated in the birth and lives of their little 
ones. The world is not yet prepared for this 
heavenly philosophy ; when it is the millennium 
will be near at hand : will it be reached in any 
other way ? " The seed of the woman," only — first, 
and chiefly, the babe of Bethlehem ; but second, 
and only less significantly, the little ones of His 
Kingdom, over all the earth — •" shall bruise the 
serpent's head : " the family must be elevated to the 
high dignity God intends for it, ere millenial glory 
shall flood the earth. I hear the Devil's jeering 
laugh as I write, and see his mocking leer ; but I 
also hear the loving Savior's voice, and see His 
Heavenly face, as He says — suffer the little ones 
to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is 
the Kingdom of Heaven." 

Samson's subsequent career, was well calculated 
to impress the Philistines with his somewhat awe- 
inspiring, if not his superhuman character ; and 
thus, too, the way was prepared, to a degree, for the 
subsequent liberation of the children of Israel. Any 
nation is already half conquered, when confidence 



SPECIAL PRO VIDENCES. 



H5 



in themselves is gone : when they feel that God 
fights on the side of their enemies. Subsequent 
historical events, proved the truth of this rule, in 
the case of the Philistines : they are impressed with 
the fact that super-human powers are engaged 
against them ; and manifest this, in all their treat- 
ment of Samson. 

That Samson did not fully succeed in his God- 
appointed mission, is due apparently, to the weak- 
ness of character developed in his life ; the tragic 
end of which, however, presaged the liberation of 
the Israelites, which occurred not long after ; and 
the down-fall of the nation, which took place at a 
later period of their history. God ruleth in the af- 
fairs of men, as well as in the armies of Heaven. 

The Birth of Samuel. 

The story of Samuel is familiar to every child, 
almost in its mother's arms ; it is a household epic. 
Like Manoah's wife, Hannah too, prior to the birth 
of Samuel, was childless ; and it was a cause of 
great grief to her, for domestic as well as other 
reasons. Moved by impulses, she probably did not 
fully understand, she prayed for the deliverance sug- 
gested by her motherly instincts ; vowing that if her 
prayer were heard, she would devote her child to 
the Lord. The aged priest, Eli, then ministering in 
the temple atShiloh, whither Elkanah and his family 
had gone to worship, as was their wont, after re- 
proving her for supposed drunkenness, on learning 
the real nature of her distress, dismissed her with a 
blessing, indicating that her desires should be real- 



I46 RETRIBUTIOX ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



[zed. In due time they were realized, and the child 
of her prayers was called Samuel. After the child 
was weaned, at about eiofht years of a^e, his mother 
took him to Shiloh, with the customary offerings, 
and presented him to the aged priest, to minister 
unto the Lord thenceforth, while he lived. 

Thus far everything seems to have gone on in an 
entirely natural way ; and, yet, hew clearly it is 
seen, in the light of subsequent events, that the 
guiding hand of God was in it all. Eli was then old : 
his sons, not properly restrained by a weakly indul- 
gent father, because of their vileness of character, 
were soon to be destroyed ; and Samuel to become 
prophet, priest, and judge of all Israel. Such was 
the issue of events ; Samuel proving the last of the 
theocratic judges, and preparing the way for the 
monarchy, which had been foreshadowed some three 
hundred years before ; the record of which may be 
found in the 1 7th Chapter of Deuteronomy. The 
time had come, when the theocratic form of govern- 
ment, in its more distinctive features, must give way 
to one more suited to the then exigences of the 
nation. 

We need not follow the narrative of his life. Eli, 
at the advanced age of ninety-eight, died of grief, 
because the ark of the Lord had been taken in bat- 
tle, and his two sons had been slain ; Samuel, at 
thirty years of age, had become established as a 
prophet ; and, henceforth, was to give direction to 
all the affairs of the people. 

How successfully and faithfully he did this, is 
fully recorded in the first book that bears his name; 
ceasing not in his divinely appointed, divinely di- 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



147 



rected mission, till David was anointed to be King- 
in place of Saul, who had proved himself so unwor- 
thy the distinction God had put upon him. 

How plainly is the special providence of God 
seen, in the birth and life of this holy man. One of 
the most touching incidents in biblical history, is 
that recorded in the 12th Chapter of 1st Samuel, 
where the prophet, then an old man, gives his last 
charge to the people : it will repay frequent pe- 
rusals. 

Elijah The Tishbite. 

Passing by David — the man after God's own 
heart — whose life, though crowded with dramatic 
incidents, wonderfully illustrating the immanent 
protection and care of God, was yet unmarked by 
events which can be considered miraculous ; whose 
special duty was to establish the monarchy on a 
sure foundation : passing by, also, the example of 
Solomon, who, by evident design of Providence, 
was to exemplify, in his life, the utter insufficiency 
of worldly possessions, culture or wisdom, to secure 
happiness, or satisfy the cravings of the soul ; let 
us consider, for a moment, the career of Elijah the 
Tishbite, which illustrates, in a most remarkable 
manner, the immediate interference of God, in hu- 
man affairs. 

He first appears — from whence no one knows, 
then an old man, apparently, of rough, uncouth garb 
and appearance — during the reign of Ahab ; whose 
wickedness, and that of his wife, Jezebel, was of a 
conspicuous character : disappearing in the heavens, 



I48 RETRIBUTION j OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



about fourteen years thereafter, as never man did 
before or since, in a chariot of fire. 

His life seems to have been a mediate one, 
wholly ; more peculiar, in this respect, then any 
other that we have account of. A hermit, largely, 
so far as we know, with neither wife nor child, he 
mingled little, apparently, with the affairs of men ; 
driven forward, when not immediately directed by 
God, by impulses he, himself, probably, but little 
understood. He was a human machine, as it were, 
driven by divine power ; to accomplish human and 
divine results : to illustrate as never man did, before 
or since, the special, immanent, providence of God. 
To this end, God seems to have placed in his hands, 
the very elements themselves : wonderful fact — a 
lesson to all a^es — to all men. 

He announces to Ahab, that their shall be neither 
dew nor rain for years ; and then, only, according 
to his word. The elements obey the God-given 
command ; dew and rain cease to water the parch- 
ing earth ; food, for man and beast, gradually dis- 
appears ; the land mourns under the displeasure of 
God. Elijah, guided by his Almighty protectors, 
hides himself by the brook Cherith, near the river 
Jordan ; where the ravens, so numerous in Pales- 
tine, morning and evening, tenderly care for him ; 
bringing him the food necessary to his existence. 

When Cherith dries up — as insufficient grace 
dries up in human hearts — by command of God, the 
prophet, not seeing clearly coming events ; walk- 
ing in the shadow, yet sustained by faith in God — 
a precious example for all time — gets him to 
Zarephath, near the Mediterranean sea, where God 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



149 



has commanded a widow woman to sustain him ; 
she, herself, all unconscious that the hand of God 
was guiding her, as well as the prophet ; whose 
character, at first, she did not know. The timid, 
shrinking, suffering woman, because of the famine, 
expecting almost immediate death, assured by the 
man of God, that her barrel of meal and cruse of 
oil should not fail, till rain should descend again 
upon the earth, shares with him the little remnant 
she had ; and finds, to her astonishment, that the 
word of the prophet is true : now, as then, faith in 
God, is the salvation of men. 

Of the sickness and healing of the widow's child ; 
of Elijah's appearance, two or three years later, to 
Obadiah and Ahab ; of the remarkable scene, 
altogether unique in human history, that occurred 
on Mount Carmel — where the flames of God's ap- 
proval, licked up the very waters around the altar 
of sacrifice — where the prophets of Baal were de- 
stroyed, and the people acknowledged, again, the 
Lord God whom they had abandoned ; and when, at 
length, on the top of Carmel — that remarkable ele- 
vation overlooking the great sea — the promised 
rains descended, and the earth again rejoiced : — of 
all these we need not speak. 

How, also, the infamous Jezebel, whose name 
has, ever since, been a synonym of wickedness and 
malice, sought his life ; how the prophet fled to the 
wilderness, near Beersheba, and sat down under a 
Juniper tree, requesting of God that he might die ; 
how graciously the Lord reproved, comforted and 
sustained him ; how subsequently, he anointed 
Nimshi to be king over Israel, and Elisha to be his 



I50 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 

prophetical successor ; and how, at length, after a 
series of providential interventions, hitherto un- 
known in human history, and so remarkable as to 
remove them entirely from the domain of human 
instrumentalities — out of the realm, wholly, of ordi- 
nary natural occurrences — he was caught up to 
Heaven, in a chariot of fire ; closing, thus, the most 
singular life on record : — how, we repeat, all these 
events particularly transpired, need not be related : 
it is enough for us, that they and all other events of 
his life, demonstrate, beyond cavil, that God di- 
rects the minutest, as well as the greatest events of 
human life. 

Hezekiah and the Recession of the Sun's 
Shadow on the Dial of Ahaz. 

About one hundred and eighty-three years later 
than the events last noticed, the good King Heze- 
kiah, though yet in middle life, being seriously ill, 
was visited by the prophet Isaiah, and told to set 
his house in order, as the time had come for him to 
die. Still young, and anxious for his people, as 
well as himself, the troubled king, prayed God that 
his life might be spared ; and that he might, again, 
be restored to health and usefulness : the old may 
desire death, if God be with them ; the young, with- 
out blame, do not : life, rightly directed, is a bless- 
ing ; death at the last, however, is far greater : 
"blessed are they who die in the Lord :" precious 
boon to a sinful race — a decaying, perishing body : 
Heaven is our home. The Lord heard Hezekiah's 
prayer, as He always does the prayers of His faith- 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



ful ones, and instructed the prophet to assure him 
that he should be restored ; and that fifteen years 
should be added to his life. 

Living in an age, and under a dispensation, when 
as yet the spiritual vail was over men's hearts and 
minds, the faith of Hezekiah, as not unfrequently is 
the case now, needed objective support. In this 
trembling and imperfectly believing attitude, he 
asked of God a sign of the promised blessing. Con- 
descending to a weakness inherent in human nature, 
God consents to give him the assurance he needs. 
The prophet inquires of him : — " Shall the shadow" 
— on the dial of Ahaz — "go forward ten degrees, 
or backward ten decrees ? " The trembling sick 
man, needing an extraordinary sign to confirm his 
faith — a special intervention of divine power — re- 
plied : — " it is a light thing for the shadow to go 
down ten degrees ; nay, but let the shadow go back- 
ward ten degrees :" And the Lord brought the 
shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone 
down in the dial of Ahaz. Thus assured, the king 
was soon healed ; going up to the house of the 
Lord, as was his wont, on the third day thereafter. 

This event, like that of Joshua commanding the 
sun and moon to stand still for a whole day, is a 
stumbling-block to many believers ; a subject of 
ridicule to unbelievers. For the sake of the former 
at least, let us see if the matter can be placed in a 
light to command consent. 

What, now, are the attending circumstances ? 
Hezekiah was yet a young man ; his reign had been 
a prosperous as well as righteous one, the continu- 
ance of which was desirable ; grave national con- 



152 RETRIBUTION j OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 

siderations being involved : the theocracy had been, 
long- since, superseded ; idolatrous associations, 
since the rebellion under Jereboam, affecting Ju- 
dah as well, had impaired the sense of dependence 
on God ; and men's minds were less receptive than 
formerly. Hezekiah, though a good man, Avas some- 
what under the influence of these corrupting asso- 
ciations ; and he needed assurance of God's favor. 
He cried unto the Lord ; and then, as even now at 
times, when good men are in grave extremities, and 
divine judgments are impending over them, God 
hears his prayer, and answers him graciously. 

The immediate circumstances were, that the kino- 
lay upon a sick bed, in a room by himself ; no one 
doubtless, being present, but the prophet Isaiah, 
What, now, is to be accomplished ? simply, an as- 
surance on the part of Hezekiah, not on the part of 
the prophet, that God had answered his prayer, and 
would prolong his life. Think of these two men in 
a room by themselves ; the customary attendants 
being,. doubtless, in an adjoining room: think of 
Hezekiah, anxiouslv looking- at the dial — an intense- 
ly interested observer — and of Isaiah, comforting 
and reassuring him, by his confident expectations 
and manner. 

What, now, we repeat, is the problem to be 
solved ? — simply that the king shall be assured : not 
that the prophet shall be assured ; not that atten- 
dants, who possibly — yea, probably — knew nothing 
about it, at the time ; perhaps not till the account 
was subsequently written, if even then — should be 
assured. It was a personal event, merely ; and it 
was not necessary —possibly, it was unwise — that 



SPE CIA L PR O VIDE NCR S. 



1 53 



any one else, should know anything about it. The 
whole transaction occurred at one interview, ap- 
parently, and in a very brief space of time ; the 
people whom he governed, as he was yet young, did 
not, doubtless, expect his death ; Hezekiah, him- 
self, might not have expected to die — probably did 
not — until the prophet told him he should : what 
need, therefore, of publicity? However this may 
be, the result follows, as already stated — the king 
recovers ; goes to the house of the Lord, on the 
third day ; and survives the promised time. 

But the doubting ones on the one hand, and the 
scoffers on the other, still insist, more faithless, even, 
than Hezekiah, and requiring more support to their 
faith, that such a divine interference as this is im- 
possible ; involving, as they conceive, such an in- 
fraction of cosmic laws, as to utterly forbid belief in 
it. But is this really so ? Was there any more dif- 
ficulty, in God's suspending the revolution of the 
earth on its axis, and turning it backward, to accom- 
plish the result, than there was in His creating the 
world in the first instance ; or in suspending this 
and all worlds in space, without apparent founda- 
tions ; and maintaining them in such inter-depen- 
dent relations, to each other, as ^hat they all can be 
mathematically calculated ? manifestly not : the dif- 
ficulty is not in the fact ; but, rather, in the imper- 
fection of our conceptions. 

The natural world is full of mysteries ; as far be- 
yond human explanation, as this supposed arrest of 
the earth's revolution, and retrogression : why,then, 
should the mind, even, much more our faith, stag- 
ger at such a proposition as this ? It is a wretched 



154 



RETRIBUTION : OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



philosophy, utterly unlit for the mysterious world 
in which we live, that can q-'iyq the mind and soul 
no satisfaction, no rest, at such a point. 

But is it really necessary to suppose., that the re- 
cession of the shadow on the dial, was brought 
about in this way ? Think, again, that the only ob- 
ject was to satisfy the invalid king, who should have 
had faith enough to believe, without objective as- 
surance. The shadow must indeed go back, as un- 
doubtedly it did ; but God's power could easily have 
been exerted in many other ways, to accomplish the 
result, than bv the one already suggested. It would 
have been an easy matter for God to have changed, 
for the moment, the visual anode of Hezekiah's eves 
to produce the effect : or He might have caused 
the result, by the immediate exercise of His power 
otherwise. Xo one is warranted in saying in what 
definite manner, or by what definite means, the re- 
sult was brought about ; yet, as the effect to be pro- 
duced was a merely personal one, it is extremely 
probable, that it was caused by some immediate ef- 
fect upon Hezekiah's vision ; or by some temporary, 
local change in optical laws, that would impress 
both the sick man, and the prophet. 

For the complete vindication of this incident, it 
is not necessary to suppose, that the recession of the 
shadow was apparent to Isaiah. It may, indeed, 
have been so, as the prophet announced only what 
God told him to announce, and may have looked to 
its fulfillment, as a justification of his prophetic 
office, as well as God's special instructions to him. 
Prophets and apostles, however, spoke as they were 
moved by the Holy Spirit, or by direct communica- 



SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 



*55 



tion from God ; and they did not, probably, under- 
stand the full import of what they said : inspiration 
is not dependent, nor in any wise conditioned, upon 
human understanding. The prophetic office, more- 
over, under the old dispensation, was sometimes, 
apparently, sustained by very weak, if not unworthy 
men. Balaam is a case in point : — When called to 
curse Israel, he spoke as he was told to do ; blessing 
Israel, with reluctance, as it were ; and, as would 
seem, entirely against his will : but for the reproval 
of the dumb ass on his way thither, he would, prob- 
ably, have degraded the prophetic office to most 
unworthy purposes ; seduced thereto, by promises 
of reward. Revelation, we must never forget, with 
respect to finite comprehension, is a forever-un- 
folding of the infinite : in the future life, doubtless, 
as here, happiness will consist, in part, in these 
never-ending discoveries. 



Daniel. 



About the year 606 B. C, nearly a hundred years 
after the death of Hezekiah, Nebuchadnezzar, king 
of Babylon, besieged and took Jerusalem ; carrying 
back with him, part of the vessels of the house of 
God. Among the captives carried thither, were 
some favored Jewish youths, sons of princes ; con- 
spicuous among them, was Daniel, and his three 
friends — Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Their 
wonderful histories, like those of Joseph and 
Samuel, are household epics, of sweetest beauty ; 
having done as much, perhaps, to confirm, in all 
subsequent ages, the faith of men in an over-ruling 



I56 RE TRIB UTION; OR HE A VEN A ND HELL. 

providence, as any other ever written. Not He- 
brew poetry alone, but that of the civilized world, 
would be delivered of much of its sweetest inspira- 
tion, were these histories to be stricken out of exis- 
tence, and forgotten. To the young, they are of 
never-failing interest and delight , to the middle 
aged, they inspire the courage of righteous convic- 
tions, as the sure ground of God's favor ; to the old, 
they are sources of deepest spiritual hope and ex- 
pectation ; to all, they are as full of instruction as 
of divinest beauty. 

So well known are their histories, we need go in- 
to no details about them. We allude to them, 
merely, as remarkable illustrations of the subject 
we are discussing : — as special providences, that go 
so far as to shut the mouths of hungry lions, and 
cause their very tameness to utter praises to an im- 
manent God ; that turn the seven-times heated fur- 
nace, into the ante-chamber, as it were, of the palace 
of the Great King ; and guide His favored ones 
through lives crowded with vicissitudes, well calcu- 
lated, otherwise, to overwhelm all confidence in di- 
vine protection and care. Look at the calmness 
and repose of these godly children, under the most 
trying circumstances ; note how their faith, was 
rather encouraged than repressed ; and then ask : — 
What less than the immediate protection and care 
of the Almighty — of the Jehovah of their love and 
faith — could have saved, or even sustained them ? 
God's immanence was their sure, as it was their 
only ground of trust. 

We approach, now, the close of the old dispensa- 
tion, and will pass over intervening instances, in il- 



SPECIAL PRO VIDENCES. 



*57 



lustration of our subject, and come directly to the 
advent of the Savior of mankind. 

Jesus, The Christ. 

We have already spoken of His miraculous con- 
ception, and of His birth, life, and death : and as 
they constitute the deepest inspiration of all loving 
hearts ; as they have inspired the songs, and raised 
the hopes of a world for eighteen hundred years 
and more ; as they have crowded christian nations, 
with the sweet charities that distinguish them ; as 
they have redeemed mankind from sin and trans- 
gression ; have lifted up the fallen and down-trod- 
den, everywhere ; and as they are, even now, the 
only hope of a simcursed earth ; they prove, as no 
other event ever did, the love of God to men, and 
its immanent expression in the world. 

What we are now to consider, however, is not so 
much the strictly religious character of this event, 
as its influence upon the objective world. We re- 
nind our readers, as already implied in many ways, 
that the advent of our Savior is the key note of all 
history ; without which, before as well as after the 
uplifted cross, the swelling chorus of creation and 
providence could not be comprehended : it is the one 
event that stands out above all others ; unlocking, 
at it were, the secrets of the universe. 

Read in the light of the Savior's love, how simple 
the story of the Garden of Eden, and the tempta- 
tion and fall of man become ; what a brilliant 
light is reflected on all succeeding events. Had 
there been no Devil — no sin — the Garden of 



I5& RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



Eden would be in existence to-day ; labor would 
be a pleasure ; thorns and thistles would not 
grow upon the earth ; no sweat of the brow be 
witnessed. Had there been no Devil — no sin — 
children would be born, now, as ever, without painj 
or sorrow ; without the evil tendencies, now inher- 
ent in them ; without the fearful possibilities which 
now becloud their lives — a constant source of solici- 
tude to anxious parents — without sin. Had there 
been no Devil — no sin — no Savior would have been 
necessary ; no miraculous birth ; no stainless, sin- 
less, self-denying, suffering life ; no agony and 
death upon the cross ; no bleeding hands or feet ; no 
pierced side, out of which should flow the life-blood 
of a sin-stricken, dying world ; no cruel mockings 
of a jeering multitude ; no inhuman betrayal, by one 
who should have been His loyal friend and brother ; 
no desertion by the apostles whom He loved ; no 
cave in the smitten rock, where His body should be 
laid : no weeping Marys to gather about the. tomb 
of the loved and lost one ; no bursting of the bands 
of death — no resurrection — to inspire the hopes of 
a mourning, hopeless humanity ; no tender inter- 
views to revive and strengthen the waning faith of 
the disciples ; no triumphant ascent into the Heaven 
above ; no pentecostal deliverance, as subsequently 
was experienced : the earth, itself, would have been 
Heaven ; as one day, again, an unswerving faith as- 
sures us, it certainly will be. 



D ISP ENS A T/ONS. 



159 



CHAPTER X. 

Dispensations : — 1. — Eden ; 2. — Eden to the 
Flood ; 3. — From the Flood to the Confu- 
sion of Tongues ; 4. — From the Confusion 
of Tongues to Christ ; 5. — The Present 
Dispensation. 

The Garden of Eden. 

As heretofore indicated, the Garden of Eden was 
one dispensation, physical and moral : the race was 
sinless, and therefore happy ; and the physical world 
was adapted to its condition. The situation was a 
perilous one, as subsequent events proved ; yet it 
fore-tokened the final relations of the restored earth, 
and the happiness of the righteous, forever there- 
after. Brief as is its history, and tragic as was its 
close, it is a lesson for all time ; inspiring our faith 
and exciting our hopes : it is a dream of beauty ; 
solacing every christian heart, with sweetest future 
expectation : Heaven is real to us now. The tired 
earth itself, travails in pain to be delivered : the Gar- 
den of Eden will be restored ; the earth shall yet 
teem with Edenic beauty ; and God shall walk 
again with the race — secure, henceforth, forever, in 
His loving care. 



I 60 RETRIBUTION ; OR BE A VEN AND HELL. 



Eden to the Flood. 

From the expulsion from the Garden of Eden to 
the flood, was another dispensation : when the race 
was sinful — corrupt — and the earth re-adapted by 
God to its then condition, 

This dispensation was peculiar in many respects: 
— two civilizations, so to speak, contended for the 
mastery — one through Cain, the elder brother, who 
had in him an apparently devilish instinct ; another 
through Seth, the substitute for Abel, whom Cain 
had killed, and who was free from extraordinary 
hereditary taint. The intermarriage, at length, of 
the two families and their descendants, precipitated 
a degree of open vice and corruption without paral- 
lel in human history ; and so tainted the race, gen- 
erically, that its utter extinction was necessary : this 
was accomplished by the flood, after patient trials 
of many hundred years ; a single family, only — pure 
descendants of Seth — being saved. 

That rain fell upon the Ante-diluvian world, i- 
mere than doubtful. We are not ignorant of the 
dogmatic assertions of so-called science, in this re- 
spect ; but though by no means underrating the 
value of science, tentatively held — as all science 
should be that is not within the domain of absolute 
exactness — we have seen, nevertheless, not a little, 
in modern times, to preclude the unqualified accept- 
ance, of much that passes by that recklessly abused 
name. 

Human experience in any age, past or to come, 
never has been — never can be — the measure of 



DISPENSA TIONS. 



161 



possibility : all history attests this ; reason and in- 
tuition confirm it. Some men — scientific men, 
they call themselves, in many cases, with altogether 
unequaled dogmatism and arrogance — with a credu- 
lous deglution, wholly without precedent, swallow, 
without a struggle and with an apparently greedy 
covetousness, the inanities of evolution, and call 
them science : Other men write elaborate books,for 
use in colleges and other schools of learning; teach- 
ing that sound waves, illustrating a postulated un- 
dulatory theory, can blow candles out, through a 
ten-feet tin tube, by clapping books at the large end 
of it ; and that similar sound-waves, but of greater 
amplitude, (for we like to state things, sometimes, 
with scientific exactness) can extinguish, as it were, 
whole villages — modern Eriths — though some miles 
distant : Other men, also, deliver carefully prepared 
lectures, before credulous and gaping audiences, 
upon the hippus — from the orohippus of pre-historic 
eras, to the modern horse : demonstrating with an 
exactness equal to that which sustains the Coperni- 
can system of astronomy, the mythical science of 
evolution ; and the more than farcical, so called law 
of natural selection and survival of the fittest, as its 
fundamental factor : — we say — some men teach 
such inconsequential nonsense as this, and call it 
science ; demonstrating, if not the truth, yet, em- 
phatically, how wise it is, for men to be modest, 
when dealing with themes not clearly revealed to 
mankind ; and which, carelessly handled, discover 
stupidity, not wisdom. God gives over some men 
to believe a lie ; such seems to have been frequently 
the case in modern times : the world sickens and 



I 62 RETRIBUTION OR HE A VEN AND HEII. 



reels with scientific inebriety ; and we need to call 
in the services of the Great Physician, or we shall 
all oro to mad-houses together, 

These candle-blowers with sound-waves, and oro- 
hippus philosophers, aud such as they, who overtax 
their cerebral capacities, in exploiting for human 
tails on human embryos, will gravely assure us, that 
it did rain before the flood ; and that the earth was 
never watered, as the Bible intimates, by a " mist 
that went up from the earth, and watered the whole 
face of the ground." Possibly not, (for we were not 
there to see ; and these careful scientific souls, would 
not have us believe anything, that is foreign to present 
human experience) yet, nevertheless, the good book 
intimates it ; and until we have some better evi- 
dence to the contrary, than the vaticinations of such 
weaklings as we have referred to. we can reverently 
believe it. 

The science of geology, imperfect as it is, affords 
us some light on this subject ; but as we prefer, 
just now, to rest upon the word of God, and not 
upon the irrational conceptions of modern scientists, 
we forbear to notice it. 

For the sake of those who believe the God of the 
universe to be wiser than men ; and that, in His 
word, He has chosen to reveal this fact to mankind, 
we quote those passages, which bear on this sub- 
ject. In the second chapter of Genesis, after relat- 
ing the completed work of creation, Moses writes 
as follows — verses 4, 5, 6 : — 

" These are the eenerations of the heavens and 
of the earth, when they were created ; in the day 
that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 



DISrEXSA TIOXS. 



163 



and every plant of the field, before it was in the 
earth, and, every herb of the field before it grew : 
for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon 
the earth, and there was not a man to till the 
ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, 
and watered the whole face- of the ground." 

We bear in mind that this account was not writ- 
ten till twenty-five hundred years and more after 
Adam, and therefore, that no full account of this 
event, or indeed any other in that early period, is 
to be expected. The object of the inspired nar- 
rator, was to state a few important facts, but not to 
explain them, or state minute details. If this, there- 
fore, were all we have to base conclusions, or, 
rather, reasonable inferences, upon, there might be 
more doubt about it, than there now is. From that 
time to the flood, however, there is no mention of 
rain ; and it is doubtful, if Xoah knew by what 
particular means. God intended to destroy the 
earth. God had told him that it would be by a 
flood of water ; but how it was to be brought about, 
nothing is said in the narrative, until seven davs 

O 'J. 

before the flood came : the whole account must 
have been a surprise to Xoah. taxing his faith not a 
little. 

But this is not all : — the token of the Covenant 
with Xoah — that the earth should no more be de- 
stroyed by a flood, made after he came out of the 
ark — was the rainbow, the account of which is oriven 
in the ninth chapter of Genesis. If the rainbow 
had been frequently observed before the flood — 
was, indeed, a common occurrence, as now — it 
would have been impressive, as a token, to Xoah 



164 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



and his descendants. One of two conclusions seem 
to be necessary : — if it rained before the flood, and 
no bow was then seen, some elemental change must 
have taken place, by which it could afterwards be 
seen : if no such change did take place ; then it 
could not have rained before the flood. Despite all 
cavil, the latter is the greater probability. 

Another possible peculiarity of this dispensation 
was, that animal flesh, may not have been eaten, 
till after the flood. This, also, it may be admitted, 
from the meagerness of the allusions to it, must be 
accepted inferentially. The scripture passages 
bearing upon it, read as follows : — Genesis 1-29: — 

"And God said, behold I have given you every 
herb, bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the 
earth, and every tree yielding seed ; to you it shall 
be for meat." 

Again : — After Noah came out of the ark, God 
speaks to him as follows : — Genesis 9-2-3 : 

"And the fear of you and the dread of you, shall 
be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every 
fowl of the air ; upon all that moveth upon the 
earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea : into your 
hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that 
liveth, shall be meat for you ; even as the green 
herb, have I given you all things." 

Now, if meat had been the common food before 
the flood, the above announcement would have 
been entirely unmeaning to Noah : the fair — the 
almost necessary — inference, therefore, is, that flesh 
had not, hitherto, been eaten — permissively so, at 
least. Animals had been killed for sacrificial pur- 
poses, and for their skins for clothing ; but there is 



D ISP ENS A T10XS. 



nothing to indicate that their flesh was eaten, but 
much, rather, in their circumstances, to render it 
probable that it was not eaten. This view is 
strengthened by the command to Noah — Genesis 
6-21 — "And take thou unto thee (into the ark) 
of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it 
to thee : and it shall be for food for thee and them." 
The inference, here, is almost irresistible that ani- 
mal flesh was not eaten by man before the flood. 

Wise men — not such as they who knelt at the 
manger of the Christ-child, offering gifts — gold, 
frankincense, and myrrh — but candle-blowers by 
sound-waves, and orohippus philosophers, and those 
who delight in discovering "human tails" on hu- 
man embryos, to illustrate their own degraded con- 
ceptions, if not those of others : — We say — wise 
men of this pattern, who, unfortunately, as they im- 
agine, were not consulted in the adjustments of the 
universe, will laugh at the idea, that flesh was not 
eaten before the flood — at the suggestion, even, 
that there ever was flood — using the stereotyped 
scientific nonsense, in objection. As, however, we 
have no reason to believe that God ever took them, 
or such as they, into His counsels, we are able still 
to believe that flesh was not eaten, permissively at 
least, before the flood. It is possible, notwithstand- 
ing permission had not been given to eat flesh, that 
the peculiar corruption which prevailed before the 
flood was intensified by the eating of flesh, in viola- 
tion of God's command : the custom, in such case, 
orioqnatino- with Cain and his descendants ; and 
becoming general, possibly, when the intermarriage 
of the two families took place, as heretofore alluded 



1 66 RETRIBUTION j OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



to. It may be that the following verse — Genesis 6- 
4 — refers, indirectly, to that fact : 

" There were giants in those days ; and also after 
that, when the sons of God" — the children of Seth 
\ — " came in unto the daughters of men, and they 
bare children to them : the same became mighty 
men, which were of old ; men of renown " : — die 
word giant, referring less, it may be presumed, to 
stature, than to great energy of character, accom- 
panied by fierce, ungovernable passions. 

Another distinguishing feature of this dispensa- 
tion is the great age to which men lived. This, too, 
is scoffed at by the class of philosophers we have 
alluded to ; while by others, yielding, unnecessarily, 
to the rationalistic tendencies of the day, it is ex- 
plained by supposing the years mentioned to be 
some period less than that now indicated by the 
word. As the latter is unsupported, wholly, by 
data of any kind, or by any reasonable inferences ; 
and as the vaticinations of mere cavilers are un- 
worthy attention, we may dismiss this subject with 
brief notice. 

There was an evident necessity, at this early 
period, for extraordinary conditions of many kinds ; 
not the least important of which was the relative 
aee of men. 

The age was rude, uncultured, inexperienced ; no 
means of storing up knowledge existed, — books 
being unknown ; traditionary knowledge, therefore, 
was all that was available. Had the term of life 
been as brief as it now is, the remembrance — even 
of comparatively recent events — could not have 
been preserved ; this, of itself; clearly indicates the 



DISPENSA TIONS. 



167 



necessity for a considerable prolongation of human 
life. 

There were other reasons, however, of pressing 
force : — rapid population was necessary ; the earth 
was densely occupied with destructive animals ; and 
for various other reasons, the preservation, as well 
as rapid increase of population, was required. It is 
in harmony with reason, then, as well as scripture, 
that mankind lived to the orreat a^e indicated. 

o o 

At this point let us interject a query or two : — if 
the human body, as now constituted, can retain its 
vigor, with all its powers unimpaired, for ten, 
twenty, or fifty years, what hinders that it should 
continue thus for a hundred, a thousand, or an eter- 
nity of years' ? On grounds of reason, the latter is 
just as possible as that man should exist at all 
Our present experience of life and death is not, and 
cannot be, the measure of possibility, in this re- 
spect : God mad^e man to live forever, as the 
angels do ; as He himself does : made him, in this, 
as in other respects, in His own image. Man's in- 
tuitions, even now, are adjusted, in a measure, to 
this basis : — he knows, indeed — by observation and 
experience only though — that he must die ; but he 
longs for existence ; and his intuitions tell him, as 
the Bible assures him, that he is immortal ; and, by 
and by, shall live in the body again : the young, 
healthy and vigorous never expect to die ; experi- 
ence, only, brings the knowledge. At one hundred 
and twenty years, the eyes of Moses were not dim, 
nor his natural force abated : how lone would he 
have lived, in that condition, had not God seen fit 
to take him to Himself ? 



1 68 RE TRIE UTION ; OR HE A VEN A ND HELL. 



The righteous live out all their days ; the sinless 
never die. We repeat : — Sinless beings never die : 
merely spiritual beings, also, never die : the body 
dies — the soul does not. 

From the Flood to the Confusion of Tongues. 

From the Hood to the confusion of tongues was 
another dispensation : — The race was now relieved 
of its peculiar hereditary taint, Noah and his family 
being descended through the godly line of Seth ; 
the destructive animals had all now disappeared ; 
and now, again, mankind, under more favorable cir- 
cumstances, are to be entrusted with the great cause 
of civilization ; to try, again, whether they were 
equal to t^eir own renovation and restoration to 
God : in other words — to save themselves. 

As yet, the unity of the race was unbroken ; and 
as they had a common language, and the condi- 
tions, otherwise, were apparently favorable, the 
experiment seemed not altogether hopeless. A rest- 
less foreboding, however, possessed them ; under 
the impulse of which they crowded together in 
masses ; refusing to separate, and thus replenish 
the earth, as God commanded. 

Collecting, in considerable numbers, on the plain 
of Shinar, they began to build a great tower, whose 
top should reach unto heaven ; in order to make to 
themselves a name, and prevent their being scat- 
tered over the face of the earth. This second rebel- 
lion of the race was checked by the confusion of 
tongues, as it is called : — by confounding their lan- 
guage, so that they should not understand each 



DISPENSA TJONS. 



169 



other ; by giving them new languages, new intui- 
tions, new fears, new hopes ; and by adjusting 
them, racially and otherwise, to inhabit all parts of 
the world. In accordance with this, " the Lord" — 
Genesis n. 8 — "scattered them abroad, from 
thence, upon the face of ail the earth." 

From the Confusion of Tongues to Christ. 

From th,i confusion of tongues to Christ is an- 
other dispensation : — The unity of the race is now 
broken ; and as men cannot understand each other, 
they are afraid , and flee to the ends of the earth, 
as if for their lives : the black man, made such by 
the immediate fiat of God, hies him to the tropics — 
his congenial home ; the yellow races linger upon 
the confines of both the tropical and temperate 
zones ; and the white man, fearlessly, ventures into 
the colder regions of the north. Now, again, the 
race is to have a fair trial, for its self-reliant redemp- 
tion, and restoration to the favor of God. 

The experiment is to be a long and faithful one ; 
and though left to themselves, nothing shall be 
wanting, on the part of God, to their salvation. 

The arts and sciences are now available to them ; 
writing on parchment, and otherwise, is resorted to; 
new discoveries are constantly being made ; God 
instructs, watches over, and leads the race — by 
pillars of cloud by day, and pillars of fire by night, 
when necessary ; and, in all ways, the race is en- 
couraged to worship Him, and find that goal of 
happiness and repose they intuitively feel their 
need of. 



I 70 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 

During this long period, the great kingdoms of 
the ancient world spring into existence ; kings, 
thrones, and dynasties come and go, like phantoms 
in the twilight ; the human intellect is cultured and 
expanded ; and when, at length, it was fully demon- 
strated that the world, by wisdom, could not find 
out God ; when it was seen, and fully demonstrated, 
that something far beyond and better than all 
these, was wanted ; a loving Father interferes, 
again, and sends His only son into the world, to die 
for, and so redeem and save it. 

The Present Dispensation. 

What a special divine intervention is this, in 
human affairs ; without which the race, to-day, 
would be in as hopeless a condition as it was ere 
the dying Saviour breathed out His life, and poured 
out His blood, upon it ; and so gave it the salva- 
tion it had labored so earnestly, yet so unsuccess- 
fully, for four thousand years to find. 

A new life is now infused into humanity ; new 
desires, new aspirations, are enkindled in it : and 
when, at length, pentecostal showers are granted, 
the unity of the race is partially restored ; the 
tongue-tied inhabitants begin to speak with other 
tongues ; linguistic disabilities begin to disappear ; 
powerful moral forces, hitherto unknown, are added 
arguments to obedience ; and, in all ways, the tired 
and panting earth enters upon a new life — a new 
dispensation. 

Now, again, the race is upon trial ; but under 
conditions that insure success : they no longer lean 



DISPENSA TIONS. 



upon an arm of flesh, but upon that of the Almighty 
Himself ; love has conquered — not power, not wis- 
dom, not wealth — and the race will be saved. The 
love of God, expressed through the blood of His 
only son and exemplified in human hearts and lives, 
restores us to His favor, and secures us his protec- 
tion and care forever-more. 

Not yet, however, is the end : — the earth has lain 
long in wickedness and sin ; and ages must elapse 
ere the grand consummation shall be reached. The 
canon of scripture, however, is complete ; atone- 
ment has been fully made ; man's inability has been 
supplemented ; mankind are inspired with hopes, 
unknown before ; intentions, of all kinds, are multi- 
plying ; commerce is bringing the ends of the earth 
together; time and space are being abolished, as it 
were ; the nations of the world are returning, slowly 
but surely, to a common language ; and, by and by, 
— long ere the great trumpet shall sound — the 
watchmen shall see eye to eye ; and " He whose 
right it is, shall reign, from the river unto the ends 
of the earth.'' 

Having vindicated, thus, the grand doctrine of 
the immanence of God in creation and providence — 
the constant provision and care of our loving 
Heavenly Father — with what affectionate confi- 
dence may we look to Him, daily and hourly, for 
supplies of grace not only, but, also, for those 
things that are needful to us in life : — 

Special providences and answers to prayer — the 
joy and the hope of loving, trusting hearts — are as 
rife to-day as when God openly walked with Adam 
and Eve in the beautiful garden His love had pro- 



I 72 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



vided for them ; as when he walked with Enoch and 
translated him, because of his sufferings, to the 
home He had prepared for him on high; as when 
He sheltered Noah and his family, in the divinely 
appointed ark, from the floods of His wrath against 
human wickedness ; as when He confounded the 
language of His children, and scattered them over 
the face of the whole earth — laying, thus, the secure 
foundations of all the modern races of men ; as 
when he led the children of Israel out of Egypt 
into the promised land, by the most miraculous and 
astonishing interventions ever known in the subse- 
quent history of any nation ; as when He guided 
His servant Joshua, after the Jordan of his hopes 
had been passed, commanding even the sun and 
moon to stand still, to attest His loving care ; as 
when he raised up Samson, to begin the deliverance 
of Israel from Philistine captivity — strengthening 
him to pull down the pillars of the temple of their 
idol-gods —presage of their final destruction as a 
nation ; as when he raised up Samuel to be a 
prophet — to be, also, the last of the theocratic 
judges, and to lay the foundations of the incoming 
monarchy ; as when He brought forth Elijah, the 
Tishbite, out of the wilderness, to arrest the wicked 
king, Ahab, and his infamous wife, Jezebel, in their 
shameless, corrupting, idolatrous practices ; as when, 
in answer to prayer, He prolonged the life of the 
good king, Hezekiah, causing even the shadow to 
go back ten degrees on the dial of Ahaz, to reassure 
His doubting yet hoping, and blindly-trusting ser- 
vant; as when He shut the mouths of the hungry 
lions, and saved the life of Daniel ; as when He 



DISPENSA TIONS. 



173 



caused the flames of a seven-times heated furnace, 
by an immediate providence, more marked than 
almost any other in merely human history, to prove 
a mantle of glory to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- 
nego, instead of their destruction— attesting His 
loving care by His immediate presence, in the per- 
son of His own beloved Son — presage of that 
larger deliverance from the flames of Hell, which 
He was, subsequently, to effect for all the race ; as 
'when, at last, in the fullness of time, the Son of God 
appeared on the earth, to hallow it by His birth, 
life, death, and resurrection, and so accomplish its 
promised redemption ; we say special providences 
and answers to prayer are as marked and certain 
now as under the more shadowy dispensations we 
have indicated. 

Miracles, in the Bible sense, are, indeed, un- 
known ; being, since the completed canon of scrip- 
ture, and the miraculous attestation of Christ and 
His mission, unnecessary : Special providences, 
however, remain ; and the ear of a loving Father is 
ever open to the cry of His little ones: Now, as 
ever, "He sees all our weakness and pities it too." 

We do not forget that philosophers of the can- 
dle-blowing by sound-waves type, have doubted 
this, or affected to do so, and proposed prayer- 
gauges to attest their faith ; demonstrating, thus, 
their utter incapacity to deal with themes of such 
' super-human import ; but we remember, also, that 
all history as well as scripture, declares that none 
but fools say there is no God ; and so but for the 
hope that the scales may yet fall from their eyes, 
and that they may realize the need of a divine, 



I 74 RETRIBUTION j OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



spiritual, intervention in their behalf, we must, as 
we cannot do otherwise, leave them to their own 
inane reflections on this subject, and to the univer- 
sal contempt they have so richly merited. It is 
some relief to reflect, that the modern English 
name — Tyndall — is not spelled, as it once was — 
Tyndale. The modern namesakes of this great 
translator of the Bible, may well reflect upon, and 
endeavor to imitate his eminent Christian example. 

The subject, the mere threshold of which we 
have thus entered upon, is too vast to engage fur- 
ther attention, here and now. In its modern 
aspect, under the present dispensation, it spreads 
over the history of more than eighteen hundred 
years ; engaging the attention, inspiring the fears, 
encouraging the hopes, prompting the efforts, and 
elevating the affections of all mankind ; especially 
those who love and honor the God of the Universe 
— their loving Heavenly Father. 

The great subject is, largely, beyond the grasp of 
the human intellect ; and here, as in other depart- 
ments of God's Kingdom, we must wait, for a full 
fruition of His immanence and love, till the vail of 
the future life is rent in twain for us ; and we can 
look into the holy of holies, where God himself 
lives : till then, let us believe and pray. 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



175 



CHAPTER XI. 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



Infancy; Marriage; The Family. 

Having- outlined, thus, the order of the Universe 
in a general way, and with reference to some of its 
details ; sufficient, we trust to give an intelligent 
view of it, let us endeavor a practical exemplifica- 
tion of it from human life. As this is the part of 
our subject more especially illustrated by the chart 
in the fore part of the volume, it were better if the 
chart were examined carefully, before proceeding 
further. For this purpose, the brief explanation 
immediately following the chart will be most avail- 
able. 

The diagram, it will be seen, is in four parts ; 
each having a special significance : — first — the lower 
figure, illustrating life and conduct on the earth, 
the disembodied state of the unrighteous, the bar 
of God, and Hell as punishment for the wicked ; 
second — the central figure, illustrating the interme- 
diate or disembodied state or condition of redeemed 
souls after death and before the resurrection ; third 
— the upper figure, illustrating Heaven, as the final 
state and condition of redeemed souls, after the 
resurrection ; fourth — the stellar back-ground, indi- 
cating that this earth is only one of uncounted 



I 76 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 

millions, an endless series perhaps, on which similar 
displays of divine glory have been made. 

The chart is based on the principle that mankind 
are free agents, so far as moral character is con- 
cerned, in this and the future life ; and that Heaven 
and Hell, as heretofore defined, are conditions of 
existence, the happiness of the one, or the suffering 
of the other, being determined, in the case of each 
individual, by the moral character voluntarily formed 
in this life, and persisted in, in the life to come. 

The circular space in the lower figure represents 
infancy : it is white, to indicate sinlessness, and the 
great pleasure the little ones give, to all rightly dis- 
posed minds. Infancy, as the word ordinarily 
implies, involves the idea of a father and mother 
and a suitable home ; as God intends all homes to 
be, a christian home ; where, according to promise, 
children will be born into the kingdom ; as Samuel 
was; as John, the Baptist, was; as other biblical 
worthies were ; and, better than all, as our Savior 
was : — we say — where children shall be born into 
the kingdom, and not be left to be converted 
into it : in other words — where the drift of the lives 
of children, because of the purity and elevation of 
family life, and its consecrated character, shall, by 
God's grace, have the drift of their lives in the line 
of righteousness, and not in the line of unrighteous- 
ness — in the direction of good, and not of evil. 

Believing; this to be, even in the fallen state in 
which man now is, the real design of the marriage 
institution, and that the world will never be con- 
verted — the race practically redeemed — till this fact 
is realized, and the family elevated to the high 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



177 



dignity God intends for it, let us examine the 
matter with pains-taking care : — Here, as elsewhere, 
the Bible is our best authority ; and from it, we will 
take our first, as it will be our best, illustration. 
Genesis — 1, 27 — already quoted, reads as follows : — 

"So God created man in His own image, in the 
imaee of God created He him ; male and female 
created He them." 

We need hardly remind our readers, that the 
Hebrew word, Elohim, translated God, used in this 
and some other passages, is in the plural number. 
The full meaning of this, no one is warranted in 
determining : reverent deductions from it, however, 
are both proper and desirable: — It is clear, that 
God meant us to understand, that the family — not 
Adam, alone ; not Eve, alone ; but the man and 
the woman, taken together — were created in His 
own image. True, both Adam and Eve, separately, 
are, in a measure, in God's image ; but the image is 
imperfect, incomplete, until they are united in mar- 
riage : till the family, to that extent, is established. 
So far as God Himself is concerned, He thus 
announces, that the social instinct, so to speak, is 
fundamental in His own existence. The social 
instinct is fundamental in human beings — in human 
society ; and in this, as in other respects, we are 
made in the image of God. 

The divine origin and character of the marriaee 
institution, is seen, partly, in the equal distribution 
of the sexes, and the delicate adjustment of their 
relations. It would be aside from our purpose, to 
enter into extended particulars at this point ; it 
being enough for us to know, that God has specially 



I 78 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



honored this relation, the proper observance of 
which,, is fundamental to the existence of the race ; 
to the welfare of society; and to the practical 
redemption of the world. 

In accordance with this view, when a man stands 
by the side of a woman in marriage, whatever his 
state or condition in life, be it even the lowest and 
vilest, whether he knows it or not, by the simple 
fact of marriage, he takes upon himself the vows of 
God Almighty, that he will, to the best of his 
ability, execute the fatherhood of God, in that 
family, with all that fatherhood implies. Besides 
the immediate idea of fatherhood, purity, love, con- 
stancy, protection, care, are involved ; these all 
being expressed in the term — image of God. 

When a woman, also, stands by the side of a man 
in marriage, no matter what her social relations are, 
she, too, whether she recognizes it or not, takes 
upon herself, the vows of the Holy Spirit, that she 
will execute the office-work of the Holy Spirit, in 
that family : all this, in order that that grand 
promise of all the ages — the wonder it may be of 
the universe — " the seed of the woman shall bruise 
the serpent's head " — shall be realized in that 
family : that, as already observed, children shall be 
born into the kingdom, and not be left to be con- 
verted into it — that the drift of their lives shall be 
in the direction of holiness, and not of sin. The 
promise is to parents and their children : 

" Train up a child in the way he should go, and 
when he is old he will not depart from it." 

This is more than a promise : — it is an assurance 
with the moral power of the Universe behind it. 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



179 



Blessed assurance ! What an inducement to faith- 
ful, God-loving parents ! This duty faithfully 
performed, by and by, when the heavenly gates 
shall open for you, you shall say to your Heavenly 
Father — here are we, and the children thou hast 
given us. 

The moral force and beauty of the Universe 
being involved in this institution, it was meet that 
the trinal relations of Deity should appear in it. 
God is represented to us in the Bible, as God the 
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost ; to 
be strictly representative — fully to express the 
image of God — the family must be similarly consti- 
tuted : — we have, therefore, as its component 
elements, father, mother, children ; these consti- 
tuting one family, as God Himself, though existing 
in trinal relations, is one. 

The importance of this arrangement of the 
family, is seen, primarily, in the fact that no man 
can, by any possibility, be all that God. intends him 
to be, until he has loved one woman, truly and 
supremely, so far as human affection is concerned, 
and is united to her in marriage. In like manner, 
no woman can, by any possibility, be all that God 
intends her to be, till she has loved one man, simi- 
larly, and is united to him in marriage. Moreover 
— the man and woman, so united, can, by no pos- 
sibility, be all that God intends them to be, until 
children are the fruit of that Union : thus, and thus 
only, can the trinal relations of Deity — the com- 
plete image of God in this respect — be expressed in 
man ; thus, and thus only, can the best interests of 
the human race be secured ; thus, and thus only, 



I 80 RETRIBUTION ; ORTHEA VEX AXD HELL. 



can the best elements of our human nature be de- 
veloped. The sacred beauty, and divinely repres- 
entative character of this relation, may be seen in 
the fact, that when a man and woman are so mar- 
ried, God says to them, inaudibly it is true, but 
none the less in fact, I never created but one human 
pair, and I make you, as I make all others under 
like circumstances, my Vicegerents on the earth, 
for the creation of human souls ; holding you re- 
sponsible for all that that relation implies. 

If this be a proper presentation of the family con- 
stitution, the duty of marriage, as a general rule of 
conduct, is plainly deducible from it. As God 
originally constituted the family relation, in the 
Garden of Eden, the obligation to marry was uni- 
versal ; and had the race preserved its purity and 
innocence, such would, we may reverently presume, 
have been the result. Sin. however, having super- 
vened, and deranged all the relations of society, 
and, especially, the relations of the family, the obli- 
gation to marry has become qualified : the general 
duty remains ; but it is qualified, in particular cases: 
it is now the duty of most men and women to mar- 
ry, but not of all ; the rule of expediency must now 
be consulted. In some cases, it is not only not the 
privilege of either men or women to marry, it is 
their positive duty not to do so : disease, imbecility, 
and various other considerations are to be taken 
into account ; inconsiderateness with respect to 
which, is, sometimes, more than a fault — it is a 
crime. It were easy to multiply instances at this 
point, but the occasion does not call for it. 



EXP LAN A TION OF CHAR T. 



181 



The rule of duty being in its nature absolute, 
permanency of relation is necessarily inferred. Had 
the relation remained unimpaired by sin, it would 
have been unending ; a symbol — in this respect an 
image — of God's own eternal, social existence. 
Purity and constancy, based upon affection, being 
the fundamental law of the marriage institution, the 
violation of its integrity, is the gravest crime that 
can be committed : he who trangresses at this point, 
strikes God Almighty in the face with his clenched 
fist ; defacing, thus, God's own divine image. We 
press this point, because of the criminal public sen- 
timent that prevails in regard to it : — ■ 

We remind our readers that the original promise 
is, that it is the " seed of the woman " that " shall 
bruise the serpent's head." This applies of course, 
in the first instance, and in its most important sense, 
to our Savior ; but it also applies, with qualified 
force, to God's little ones, over all the earth. As 
Christ's relation to the Father is permanent, the in- 
tegrity of which is never to be invaded, and as the 
little ones of this world, are His special representa- 
tives ; what is the nature of that crime which in- 
vades their heaven-provided home, and besmears 
the divine image in them ? Now, as when the 
Garden of Eden existed in its beauty and innocence, 
there is but one name — diabolism — for such a crime. 
As the conversion of the world can only be accom- 
plished secondarily by the " seed of the woman " — 
by elevating the family to the high position God 
originally intended, and still intends for it — of what 
world-wide significance is it, that the home of child- 
hood, should be both stable and pure. 



1 82 RETRIBUTION ' ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



As the original law of the family was inviolable, 
or intended so to be, the effect of transgression up- 
on it, necessarily involved its sanctity and impaired 
its integrity : in this way, a flood of iniquity has 
come in upon the earth, such as no other crime 
could have occasioned. What shall we say further 
of this matter ? save that the Devil himself, for 
nearly six thousand years, has been gloating, with 
fiendish satisfaction, over the ruin he has wrought. 

With reference to the permanency of the family 
tie, what, now, are the indications of Providence, 
and what should be our conduct in relation to it ? 
in other words — what grounds of separation are de- 
fensible ? Purity and constancy being fundamental 
to its integrity, without which, all the purposes of 
its existence would be impaired or destroyed, it is 
manifest, that if they be wanting, there is an entire 
failure of its divine object. As between man and 
wife, therefore, where no children are to be affected 
by it, separation is permissible : it is doubtful, if, 
according to divine law, anything beyond this is 
involved. By the New Testament rule, modifying 
the Mosaic law, separation, even for inconstancy, is 
permissible only, not mandatory : Wisely this is 
left to be judged of, as individual cases may arise : 
even in cases of flagrant transgression, where the 
interests of children are concerned, there may be a 
call to the exercise of great prudence and forbear- 
ance. The family relation is vastly too important 
to be set aside hastily ; and the welfare of our lit- 
tle ones — the pledges of early affection, and the 
divine favor — may, and ought to, prompt to great 
sacrifices in their behalf : the special blessing of 



EXP LA NA TION OF CI/ A RT % 1 8 3 

God, will certainly be vouchsafed to parents, who, 
as the untransgressing party, are thus controlled. 
For any cause less than the positive infraction of 
the marriage tie, unqualified separation, is, by divine, 
as it ought to be by human law, inadmissible : 
the tremendous interests - involved, utterly forbid 
any other conclusion. 

The wide departures from this rule, in all ages 
of the world, have wrought untold mischief to the 
race : where latitudinously permitted, society has 
always been corrupted to the core ; engendering, by 
its grossly immoral tendency, every other conceiv- 
able form of vice, as an inevitable consequence : no 
transgression corrupts the moral sense, like this. 

To what extent qualified separation should be 
permitted, it is difficult to define. In some cases, 
it seems proper that it should be allowed ; but, even 
here, great caution should be indulged : for any 
but the most pressing considerations, much forbear- 
ance should be exhibited and practiced. In most 
cases of the latter kind, it is doubtful if the real 
happiness of either party is promoted ; certainly, in 
most cases, the usefulness of such, in all the walks 
of life, is seriously impaired : this is true of the in- 
nocent, as well as the transgressing party. When 
both are equally at fault, there can be no excuse for 
such a state of things : separation, in such a case, is 
only less immoral than open infidelity. 

As the welfare of society is bound up in the in- 
tegrity of the family constitution, it is to be hoped 
that the General Government, will, ere lone, take 
up the whole subject of divorce, adapting wisely 
considered provisions to all the States ; as the 



184 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 

heterogeneous legislation of the latter, is working 
untold mischief. In several of them, so far as legis- 
lation is concerned, the marriage tie is a rope of 
sand ; binding no one, man or woman, a moment 
longer than passion or convenience dictates. What 
society is, under such circumstances, need not be 
critically exemplified : that it is not rotten to the 
core, is due to the fact, that the better sentiments 
of the heart, cannot be wholly overborne by vicious 
legislation. It is a' favorable indication, that public 
sentiment, even in those States most exposed to un- 
favorable criticism, is awaking to the importance of 
this subject : where men and women can be divorced 
without their knowing anything about it, and, again, 
upon the most fraudulent pretences, there is a loud 
call for a radical awakening. Legislation that al- 
lows of such results, is a diserace to the aee in 
which we live ; the public sentiment that tolerates 
it, is debauched to the core ; judges and juries that 
give effect to it, are the liveried servants of the 
Devil — unconsciously in some cases, it may be, but 
none the less certainly ; ministers who do not re- 
buke, but w T ho palliate and excuse it, are ministers 
to lust, and not to purity, innocence, and religion. 

It will be seen, that children stand in important 
relations to the welfare of society, as we believe 
they do to the redemptive economy. Prior to 
Christ's time, they were of comparatively little im- 
portance, being looked upon, not as God intends, 
and as for the most part they really are, a blessing 
of untold import, but as a necessity, mainly, to the 
continuance of the race : even under Jewish law and 
customs, they were of little account ; while in 



EXP LA NA TION OF CI/ A R T. I 8 5 

heathen nations, they were often of less value than 
cattle. 

When the Savior came, all this was, incipiently, 
changed. Under the christian economy the bond- 
age of ages was to be broken ; women and children 
were not only to obtain due recognition, they were, 
gradually, to become the principal spiritual factors 
of the world ; it is the " seed of the woman," that 
is to " bruise the serpent's head." 

In accordance with the impending re-adjustmont 
of the spiritual relations of the world, women and 
children were the special objects of our Savior's 
solicitude ; the gospels abounding with evidence 
upon this point. As wife and mother, woman was 
honored, as never before in human history ; as a 
spiritual power, she was, gradually, to attain to pre- 
eminence, and to be gratefully recognized, in that 
relation, by man. Such is the marked tendency of 
the day ; such will certainly be the result. The 
world, we repeat, will be converted, largely, through 
the instrumentality of women and children — 
through the renovated and spiritualized family. 
With respect to children, our Savior, while on 
earth, took them in His arms and blessed them, 
saying — " Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." 
What a departure from Jewish customs ! What an 
insult to Jewish ideas ! Even the disciples rebuked 
Him ; their eyes, being, as yet, sealed to the spirit- 
ual glories of the incoming kingdom. With respect 
to men, even, they must become as little children, 
or they shall, in no wise, enter into the Kingdom of 
Heaven. 



i86 



RETRIBUTION ; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



Now what does all this mean ? is it a recognition, 
merely, of the future, altered spiritual relations of 
the race ? this, indeed, is involved in it ; but, at 
bottom, we think there is much more than appears 
on the surface. Our Savior, let it be tenderly 
recalled, came to our waiting earth as a little child : 
came, as other little ones come, with folded wings ; 
imprisoned, for a while upon the earth, ere He 
should fly away to His home in the skies. Cradled 
in loving embraces as a helpless infant, under affec- 
tionate, yet, evidently, awe-inspiring watchfulness, 
He grew in stature, and in all childhood's winning 
graces ; in all respects, it may reverently be pre- 
sumed, deporting Himself as other obedient, loving, 
children do, though in fuller measure. 

Passing through His entire life without the taint 
of sin, He has taught us the grand lesson, that our 
children, too, under the divine economy of grace, 
may, if faithful parents be vouchsafed to them, be 
born into the kingdom, and not be left to be con- 
verted into it : — in other words, that the drift of 
their lives may be in the line of righteousness, and 
not in the line of unrighteousness — in the direction 
of good, not of evil. 

Society is hardly prepared for all that might be 
said at this point. The divine economy, here, has 
been chiefly exhibited to women. Look at the 
birth of Samson ; of Samuel ; of John, the Baptist ; 
of our Savior; and the circumstances that preceded 
each : has the promise to godly parents ceased or 
lapsed ? is the immanence of God, to-day, less a 
fact, than when the vows of godly women of old, 
were registered in Heaven? May not modern 



EXPLANATION' OF CHART. 



187 



Marys, with like intent, visit their distant cousins, 
to rejoice over events in the spiritual world, that 
their loving natures presage ? We firmly believe 
it. The present dispensation is more propitious 
than the former; spiritual impressions are more 
rife, more deep and abiding now ; why should there 
not be more Marys, more Elizabeths, in this sense? 
and why should not loving, God-fearing fathers, 
learn the Heaven-sent lesson, and aid the grand 
result ? We know, well, that gross, or, possibly, 
some merely unspiritual minds, will laugh at this, 
or receive it with incredulity ; but the day of its 
partial fruition, at least, is coming — with respect to 
some families — has already come ; assurance, at 
once, of the divine economy of the family, and of 
the final redemption of the world, through this 
gracious instrumentality. 

As part of the divine economy of the sexes, it 
will be seen that, physically, men are strong and 
women weak : men are, therefore, the natural pro- 
tectors of women ; and he who is false to this duty 
— who does not defend a woman, under all circum- 
stances requiring it — -disregards the strongest 
natural claims, and abandons his manhood wholly. 
In order to secure right results, powerful instincts 
are deeply embedded in our nature ; and in all 
unperverted, properly disposed minds, these are 
sure to be brought into exercise. Moved bv 

O J 

passion, or otherwise, we may strike a man ; but to 
strike a defenceless woman, is an utter abandon- 
ment of manhood : the former may be atoned for • 
in the estimation of mankind, the latter cannot. 



I 88 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEX AND HELL. 



In the more immediate marriage relation, also, 
for wisest purposes, an analagous disparity exists ; 
the maternal instinct being much stronger than the 
merely paternal, as all observation proves. In this 
direction, also, man is the natural defender of 
woman ; and he who is false to this duty, has less 
of manhood than he ought to have — less than God 
intended he should have ; sinking himself, in fact, 
below the level of the brute creation : the Devil's 
own imaee is seen in such transgressors. The mar- 
riaee relation releases no man from this rule : infl- 
nite consequences are at stake, here, and a wise 
forbearance is plainly indicated ; is, in fact, an 
imperative duty. 

The idea that children must be multiplied in 
the most rapid manner, has no warrant, whatever, 
either in scripture, or our social economy ; it is 
sensual — brutish. The average family is five ; this 
indicates the true law — the real design of provi- 
dence : a few well born, well educated, well trained 
children, are better for families and society, than a 
house full, unsuitably born, or unsuitably cared for. 
As to unrestrained indulgence in unmarried life, 
language furnishes no. means of properly character- 
izing it : such precinct is the inner chamber of Hell 
itself. In married life, also, it is without excuse; 
differing little in enormity, and scarcely less in its 
injurious results, from that just described. It is a 
fact well known to those who have paid careful at- 
tention to the subject, that a very large proportion 
of family infelicities, have their origin at this point. 
It is not, as a rule, because there is a want of true 
affection, but because of sheer ignorance of the 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



proprieties of the marriage relation. Most young 
people, especially, marry with very exalted ideas of 
each other, entranced in a dream of future bliss. In 
many cases, the large majority it is to be feared, 
how promptly, how rudely, is the dream dispelled ! 
a dream that should have- been, as God intended, 
perpetual ; a dream that would thus have been, had 
the proprieties of the relation been carefully ob- 
served. Physiologically, also, what terrible mistakes 
are here made ; resulting, not seldom, in untold 
calamity, to both parents and children : the revela- 
tions of insane asylums, alone, would tell a fearful 
story in this direction ; these, even, being only a 
hint, as it were, of the broken hearts, and ruined 
hopes, of what would else have been, in many cases, 
an earthly paradise. 

We are now prepared for a step further, in regard 
to this somewhat delicate subject : — Our Savior, as 
already noticed, came to our waiting earth, as a lit- 
tle child. He had an earthly mother, but not an 
earthly father : was born sinless — in this respect, 
born as all other children are ; continuing thus, not 
only till the age of accountability was reached, but 
through life. What does all this mean ? What in- 
deed can it mean ? but that, whenever a child is 
born, under whatsover circumstances, in hovel or 
palace, on its merely human side, and in a qualified, 
subordinate sense, the mystery of the incarnation is 
forever repeated. We remind our readers, again, 
that it is the " seed of the woman," that is to "bruise 
the serpent's head ; " a promise, which, though ap- 
plying to our Savior, in its primary and most im- 
portant sense, embraces, nevertheless, all the little 



I9O RETRIBUTION; OR HEAVEN AND HELL. 



ones of His Kingdom, without a single exception : 
"for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." Born 

<z> 

sinless, as Christ was, if, now, we could, according 
to the gracious provisions to this end, have the en- 
tire direction of the lives of our children, in the 
line of righteousness, the full fruition of the promise 
wouly be realized — the world converted, saved — in 
a single generation. 

We do not see how we could place this matter in 
a plainer light : because of its world-wide, yea its 
eternity-existing significance, we would, if we could. 
Good and evil, Heaven and Hell, are involved in it: 
Would God, a sin-stricken earth, would learn the 
Heaven-sent lesson, and heed its admonitions. 

Some will object, perhaps, to this application of 
the incarnate principle. It has, however, long 
seemed to us the correct one, as authorized by 
scripture, properly understood, and because of our 
firm belief, that the practical redemption of the 
race — its complete regeneration — can only be ac- 
complished by the purification of the marriage insti- 
tution, and its elevation to the high dignity God in- 
tends for it. The Garden of Eden — the home of 
innocence, purity, and love — must, and will be, re- 
stored : God has promised it ; and infinite power 
and love, will secure it. 

The heart sinks at thought of the intervening 
suffering- and sorrow, the unsatisfied affections that 

o 7 

must be endured ; at the blighted hopes — the 
crushed and bleeding hearts — that must precede the 
end : yet the end shall surely come ; love shall, as 
God Himself is love, conquer all : He whose right 
it is — for whom the world, and all things therein, 



EXP LAN A TION OF CHART. \ g i 

were made — shall reign, from the rivers unto the 
ends of the earth :" millennial glory shall yet flood 
the world with its beauty ; premonitions of which 
are flushing the spiritual heavens, even as we write. 

" All hail the power of Jesus' name, 
Let Angels prostrate fall ; 
Bring forth the royal Diadem, 
And crown Him Lord of all." 



I g 2 RE TRIE UTION j OR HE A VEN A ND HELL. 



* 



CHAPTER XII. 



The age of accountability ; lines of life, or 
returning paths ; the narrow-way j the 
broad-way j the disembodied state of the 
unrighteous \ the bar of god, or judgment 
day of the unrighteous ; the nature of the 
resurrection j the final hell ; why sodom 
and gomorrah were destroyed \ why the 
ante-diluvian world ; the disembodied state 
of the righteous j heaven j the garden of 
eden ; christian homes ; recognition in 
heaven ; the judgment of the righteous ; the 
final heaven— a new heaven, and a new earth ; 
the stellar realms and their heavens. 

Referring, again, to the chart, the outer portion 
of the space — infancy — in the centre of the lower 
figure, as will be observed, is shaded : this is inten- 
ded to illustrate the age of accountability, at which 
free agency — volition, the power of choice — com- 
mences. It is shaded to indicate the inherent evil 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



193 



tendences of the heart ; which, if unrestrained by 
grace, will lead to the choice of the wrong instead 
of the right way. 

It is no part of our present purpose to discuss the 
doctrine of original or imputed sin, that has, hereto- 
fore, divided the schools so largely ; it being suffi- 
cient to know, that from that or some other efficient 
cause, there are natural tendences in the heart, even 
in childhood, which, if unrestrained by grace, are 
sure to develope themselves in a wrong direction. 
Hereditary, these tendences certainly are ; and it 
may readily be believed that they have come down 
to us, in an unbroken line, from our common an- 
cestors — Adam and Eve. No one is accountable 
for his merely evil tendences ; but he is for trans- 
lating them into sin, and neglecting the remedy, 
that has been provided for them, The mere know- 
ledge of evil, we repeat, is not sin ; it can only, be- 
come such, by the purpose, or act, of an accounta- 
ble moral being. 

As heretofore seen, evil as a principle, and sin as 
a possibility, is part of the moral order of the uni- 
verse ; alike in this, and all worlds. As moral 
accountability commences in childhood, when voli- 
tion begins to be exercised ; and as Heaven and 
Hell are conditions of existence, determined by 
moral character, voluntarily formed in this life, it is 
manifest, that in a subordinate yet highly significant 
sense, both Heaven and Hell — the concrete equiva- 
lents of eood and evil — have their origin in this 
life , the latter, however, commencing only, at the 
age of accountability in childhood, when the power 
of choice developes itself. In accordance with this 



I 94 RETRIBUTION ; OR ILEA VEN AND HELL. 



fact, each and every person, from the age of ac- 
countability forward, is in either Heaven or Hell, 
in this life : — is sustaining the moral character, which 
is the essential condition of Heaven or Hell. This 
is the Bible idea ; affirmed, in many places : — " the 
Kingdom of Heaven is within you," says scripture : 
"Ye are of your father — the Devil " — it also affirms. 
Righteousness, is Heaven begun : Sin, is Hell 
begun. 

The circular lines that surround infancy, are 
lines of life, or returning paths, as they may be 
called ; the outer one the end of life, or line of 
death : We have, then, infancy in the centre, and 
old age, or death, at the last ; this corresponding 
with our life upon the earth. The lines are wider 
and closer together, near infancy, to indicate that 
when young, before habits are fixed, and while 
minds are impressible, it is easier to come into the 
narrow way and be saved, than when old : this,also, 
accords with observation and experience, in all ages 
of the world ; demonstrating the importance of giv- 
ing the mind and heart a right direction in child- 
hood. 

Old age indisposes to change of any kind, and 
especially of ethical or religious views ; few realiz- 
ing the force of resistance, under such circumstan- 
ces, until experience demonstrates it. The deliver- 
ance of the human mind from long embraced error, is 
a parturition, far more protracted and painful, than 
that which ushers a human being into the world : 
the plastic mind of youth, is most favorable to re- 
ligious impressions. 



EXPLANATION OF CHART, 



195 



The lines of life, or returning paths, all connect 
with the narrow-way, that runs towards the top of 
the chart, and leads to life eternal, indicating that 
while life lasts, all men may corae into the narrow 
way and be saved, if they will. As all roads, how- 
ever, run two ways, in the- chart, as in life, men may 
go from bad to worse, also, if they will : compul- 
sion is at variance with the moral order ; no one 
can be saved against his will. 

The path running towards the top of the chart, 
as indicated above, is the narrow-way that leads to 
life eternal ; the way being straight and narrow, 
to indicate that unhallowed pleasures, business, or 
conduct of any kind, may not be indulged : 
" Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, 
do all to the glory of God." Whatever is for the 
glory of God, is for the welfare of mankind : the 
golden rule, is the law of all true, secular life. " 

There is a common impression that a religious 
life, is comparatively difficult ; but this is an entire 
mistake ; it is easier to do right than wrong. We 
do not overlook the force of corrupt associations 
and practices, dulling the conscience, and obscuring 
the truth itself ; but this is a perversion of the great 
truth here involved, and does not militate against 
its integrity. The biblical illustration is taken from 
the conflicting pathways, or roadways, if they may 
be so called, of Palestine ; where they, mere blind 
foot-paths for the most part, crossed each other in 
all directions, and were as well calculated to lead 
one wrong as right. As distinguished from these, 
there were ways that led to the various cities of 
refuge : which were, as required by law, as straight 



I96 RETRIBUTION j OR HE A VEX AND HELL. 

as possible, and kept free from all obstructions. 
The penal system of the Jews, and the practices un- 
der it, required all this ; so that every facility should 
be offered to fleeing criminals, to reach their cities 
of refuge, in order to save their lives. They are 
called in scripture, with other roads for the king's 
or emperor's use, high-ways. In accordance with 
this, the way to life eternal — the city of refuge for 
all mankind — is spoken of, in the Bible, as straight 
and narrow, so that all may find their way there 
without difficulty, if they will ; the term, straight 
gate, applying, more particularly, to the entrance to 
the narrow-way, and having a similar import. 

The narrow-way in the chart, as will be seen, is 
shaded at the entrance, to indicate the very com- 
mon impression that a religious life, is not a life of 
happiness ; entering on which, however, at any 
period of life, this idea is seen, at once, to be a 
mistaken one ; as it is the testimony of universal 
experience and scripture, that the way grows brighter 
and brighter unto the perfect day. We need not 
enlarge upon this thought : the chart illustrates it ; 
more than eighteen hundred years, yea, a world's 
experience, confirms the precious truth. 

The paths that lead right and left from infancy, 
in circular form, are the broad way that leadeth to 
destruction, and indicate different degrees of moral 
character, in a merely ethical sense. The way is 
broad to indicate the inherent propensities of the 
human heart to evil, which, if unrestrained by grace, 
will certainly conduct all mankind to destruction ; 
and to indicate, further, that the large majority of 
children, for the want of suitable parental teaching 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



*97 



and example — for the want of christian homes, as 
God intended all children to have — will take the 
broad-way that leadeth to destruction, instead of 
the narrow-way that leadeth to life eternal : this is 
the true import of this scripture illustration, not- 
withstanding its wider application. 

The entrances to the broad-way are white and 
inviting, in harmony with the equally common idea, 
that a worldly or irreligious life, is a life of happi- 
ness ; entering upon which, however, this, also, is 
soon seen to be a mistaken impression, as here, too, 
it is the testimony of universal experience and 
scripture, that the way grows blacker and blacker, 
till the blackness of darkness forever is reached. 
That sin grows by indulgence, it needs no argument 
to prove : accretion is the law of all growth, in the 
moral as in the physical world. 

The space between the end of life, or line of 
death, and the oblone bars in the lower figure, in 
either direction, is the intermediate, disembodied, 
or merely spiritual state of the unrighteous ; illus- 
trating the condition of existence of such souls, 
after the death of the body, and before the resur- 
rection. It is represented by dark colors, to show 
the evil moral condition of the soul : its moral 
remoteness from God ; involving, also, moral exclu- 
sion from God, and all holy beings. The returning* 
paths are here discontinued, not because free 
agency does not exist, but because there will be no 
desire to be saved ; a permanently sinful character 
having been established in this life, which will be 
persisted in, of set purpose, in the life to come. 



I98 RETRIBUTION ; OR BE A VEN AND HELL. 

That the punishment of the wicked, in the world 
to come, will consist, partly, of exclusion from God 
and all holy beings, is the dictate of reason as well 
as intuition, Good people, here, shrink from all 
association with the evil-minded and vicious ; and 
tolerate them only because of necessity, or to do 
them good. In incorrigible cases, where reforma- 
tion is impossible, duty, even, does not prompt to 
association with them. Neither party, in such 
instances, is benefited by association ; while harm 
accrues to the innocent, and society is injured by 
the example : we are to be in the world, but not 
of it. 

The case of Enoch, who was translated, illustrates 
this thought. Enoch was a descendant of Seth, 
the successor of Abel, in the godly line ; and as he 
did not intermarry with the ungodly daughters of 
Cain, as most of the other sons of God did, his life 
must have been a very unhappy one indeed. Pure 
himself, yet involved in associations of the vilest 
and most abandoned character — a corruption that 
caused the Almighty to repent of having made 
man upon the earth ; and, at length, to sweep 
them, with the exception of a single family, out of 
existence — God, in truest mercy, took him to Him- 
self. 

As good men find no happiness in the society of 
the profligate, by parity of reason, they do find it 
in the society of the virtuous and holy : Such, in 
part, is the moral order of the Universe ; intuitions 
of which, are deeply implanted in the soul. Hell, 
then — punishment for sin — we repeat, consists, in 
the life to come as here, partly, perhaps largely, 



EX PLAN A TIOX OF CHART. 



I 99 



in exclusion from God, and all holy beings. That 
there will be no repentance — no turning back to 
God — in the future life, we have sufficiently consid- 
ered already. We may simply repeat, that it is not 
because free agency does not exist, (for that is the 
fundamental factor of the moral universe) but, 
because there will be no desire to be saved : rather, 
a determined purpose not to be saved ; a moral 
inability, it may be, to be saved. 

The oblone bars, in the lower figure, on either 

<_> O ' 

hand, are the bar of God, or day of judgment for 
the wicked, after the resurrection. Our authority 
for this, rests, primarily, upon the Bible ; but, 
secondarily, upon reason and intuition. The Bible 
evidence, we need not quote ; its meaning, in this 
respect, we need not debate. We neither pro- 
pose to legislate for the Almighty — a disastrous 
endeavor, always — nor to distort the meaning of 
His laws — the Bible — to suit the exigences of 
modern cavilers. It is sufficient for our present 
purpose to say, that if we exist at all after death, 
the moral order beina- the same there as here, a 
final separation of the good and bad, must take 
place : this truth is perceived as well by intuition, 
as reason. 

Let us consider, for a moment, the nature of the 
resurrection : — Our best authority on this subject, 
also, is the Bible. It is fully set forth in the 15th 
chapter of 1st Corinthians, and is so plain that 
nothing, in reality, can be added to it : it is surpris- 
ing that so much discussion should have been 
indulged, upon this very simple matter. Our 
mortal, perishable bodies, that are laid away in the 



200 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



grave, or scattered, elsewhere, on land or sea, will 
return to dust, from which they came ; but they 
will be the seed, as it were, of other bodies, like 
them in form but different otherwise, adapted to 
the renewed and sinless condition, in which the soul 
— the real being — is, thereafter, to exist. Each 
will then be a spiritual, not a natural body ; an 
immortal not a mortal body ; a body not unlike 
that of our Savior on the mount of transfiguration ; 
like His body as it was seen, recognized, and iden- 
tified, after His resurrection ; which departed with 
Him into Heaven, and where, reverently we say it, 
it exists — now, and evermore : blessed fact ! blessed 
assurance of christian faith and hope ! In the case 
of the unrighteous, they will be furnished with 
bodies, analogous to their earthly bodies, but imper- 
ishable in nature ; maintaining a finite existence, in 
both time and space, like that of the Devi], who 
has bought them body and soul, with their full con- 
sent, to be his forever : the Bible attests this, also, 
while it comports with the moral order, as estab- 
lished by God. 

The dark half-circles at each extremity of the 
lower figure, represent Hell as the final place as 
well as condition of the wicked. What and where 
Hell is, we have carefully considered in a former 
chapter, and need not, therefore, go into the sub- 
ject, largely, now. For the best interests of the 
Universe, and therefore of the human race, it is 
part of the moral order ; conditioned, elsewhere as 
here, upon moral character. The nature of the 
punishment will be, as there is every reason to 
believe, chiefly of a moral character ; consisting of 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



20I 



total exclusion from God and all holy beings ; in 
part of the society of the wicked, alone, where 
envy and diabolical hate are ruling passions, and 
where complete moral obliquity and insensibility 
prevail. 

Whatever other conditions, a God of infinite 
justice as well as mercy may have determined upon, 
we do not certainly know : we do know, however, 
that so far as our earth is concerned, the physical 
order is involved in the moral order ; the evidence 
of which, abounds in scripture, and in the world 
around us. Hell, then, as finally constituted, 
involves the idea of place, as well as moral condi- 
tion — a realm adapted to incorrigibly sinful beings 
— and, as the order of the Universe is constituted, 
is inseparable from it, unless it be for a season, as 
in the disembodied state of the soul : whether, even 
in this state, the idea of place is entirely improper, 
cannot be certainly affirmed. 

Analogously, such a state of society as we have 
thus depicted, existed in the Ante-diluvian world ; 
and God, in mercy to the future well-being of the 
race, swept them out of existence with a flood. 
Analogously, such a society existed in Sodom and 
Gomorrah ; and God destroyed them, also, in the 
burning flames of His indignation, though, doubt- 
less, with infinite sorrow of heart. Hell, then, we 
repeat, is place as well as moral condition : it the 
the kingdom — so to speak the realm — where the 
Devil and his angels, and all unholy beings, dwell ; 
environed as a sinful existence requires. Where it 
is, is not revealed ; mere speculation in regard to 
it is unauthorized and improper: such knowledge 



202 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



would reveal the Devil not God ; it were better, 
therefore, to be without it. It is enough to know 
that Hell exists, now and forever ; and that suffer- 
ing and sorrow, are the lot of all who go there. 
Unredeemed souls, in the interest of the Devil and 
his angels, are, doubtless, engaged with them, in the 
great moral warfare between good and evil, always 
going on in the universe ; a work congenial to their 
freely chosen, and determined, diabolical character: 
such, we believe, is the teaching of scripture ; forci- 
ble analogies of which are abundant, even in the 
present life. 

Let us, in passing, illustrating the moral order 
with respect to Hell, answer, as best we may, the 
question — why Sodom and Gomorrah, specially, 
were destroyed? It was not, as some think, as an 
example, merely. True it was an example and a 
fearful one, too ; but their destruction for that pur- 
pose, only or even mainly, would ill comport with 
the attributes of God. He hates sin, but loves the 
sinner; will destroy the former and save the latter, 
if, according to the plan of salvation — according to 
the moral order — He can. With the incorrigible, 
however, destruction is the only remedy ; moral 
means being unavaible : sin propagates itself ; 
grows by indulgence ; accretion being the law of 
its existence : there is no neutral ground in morals ; 
men grow better or worse, in time and eternity. Sin 
is a fungous growth ; abnormal, as God originally 
created the soul : in incorrigible cases, excision is 
the only resort. This was the case with Sodom and 
Gomorrah : society, socially and otherwise, was ir- 
retrievably corrupt ; there were not ten righteous 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



203 



men in them ; not one, indeed, save Lo and his 
family. Even they were tainted somewhat, by the 
prevailing vileness ; but being not utterly corrupt, 
God spared them, as He spares sinners now. 

The youngest child of Jereboam, the son of 
Nebat, who made Israel" to sin, came to the grave 
in a natural way, " for in him was found some good 
thing towards the Lord God all the rest of the 
male members of the family, because of their ex- 
ceeding wickedness, came to violent ends, and their 
bodies were eaten by dogs, or the fowls of the air. 

The Ante-diluvians, also, save Noah and his 
family — who were pure descendants of Seth, and, 
so, free from the special devilish taint that charac- 
terized the descendants of Cain — were corrupt be- 
yond the possibility of redemption. Noan, the 
preacher, preached to them a hundred and twenty 
years ; but moral means were unavaible, their hearts 
being fully set in them to do evil ; and, so, God 
destroyed them with a flood. 

The middle picture of the chart, is the intermedi- 
ate, disembodied, or merely spiritual state or con- 
dition of the righteous, after the death of the body, 
and before the resurrection. 

The true idea of the Garden of Eden, of a 
christian home, and of Heaven, is social intercourse 
and worship, based upon, and controlled by affec- 
tion ; the worship, and love of a Supreme Holy 
Being, and the love of each other — love of God and 
man— true happiness being impossible on any other 
foundation. By a little license of expression, these are 
attributes of the soul, and not of the body; passing, 



204 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL, 



with the soul, into the life to come, and constitut- 
ing, there as here, the basis of happiness. 

The figures represent these social ideas and at- 
tributes, recognition, etc.; the upper two seeming 
to be floating up out of the distance and greeting 
each other ; the lower two indicating, more especi- 
ally, that deepest as well as dearest instinct or intu- 
ition of the human heart — the recognition of friends 
in a future life. The latter case is supposed to be 
that of a mother, who has died soon after giving 
birth to a little boy, who, a few years later, comes 
after her, and has not fully passed inside the gate, 
before she recognizes him, and comes, on bended 
wings, and with outstretched arms, to receive him ; 
while he, recognizing her, is stretching out his little 
hands, to be taken and embraced by her. 

For purposes of illustration, the intermediate or 
disembodied state, may be spoken of as the second 
Heaven ; that of earth being the first, and that 
after the resurrection the third. Our Lord, while 
on earth, affirmed that the " Kingdom of Heaven 
is within you " — in human hearts, affections, lives : 
holiness, in this life, is Heaven begun. We need 
not enforce this truth : the Bible asserts it, every- 
where ; all experience proves it ; the moral order is 
founded on, and fully illustrates it. 

We need, scarcely, remind our readers, that the 
terms, " Kingdom of Heaven " and " Kingdom of 
God," as commonly used in the New Testament, 
apply, primarily, to this life : are descriptive,merely, 
of the new life — the regeneration — of the soul ; a 
life that is to develope, by spiritual accretion, to all 
eternity. Heaven, then, we repeat, is righteous 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



205 



moral character, formed in this life : the same, also, 
in the disembodied, and post-resurrectional life. 

We need not, either, enlarge upon the precious 
truth, that social intercourse and worship, based 
upon and controlled by affection, is the true idea of 
Heaven : the Garden of Eden taught this beautiful 
story ; christian homes illustrate it ; our aspirations 
reach out to it ; our deepest and dearest intuitions 
confirm it. Our homes are broken and blighted ; 
sin having wrought its fearful work here. How we 
yearn for loving hearts, for loving associations, 
again ; for peace and purity, lost by sin. If we 
may not fully realize these on the earth, we shall in 
the life to come ; neither ungratified affections, nor 
crushed and broken hearts, will exist there : social 
intercourse and worship based upon affection, 
imaging thus the very nature of God Himself, will 
be the desire, as it will be the practice of all. Sin 
may not enter there ; all remembrance of it, even, 
will be blotted out. These are the sweet assurances 
of God's blessed word ; their realization the deepest 
aspiration of human souls, redeemed by grace. 

How earnestly the heart inquires, at times, shall 
I know my loved ones— those that have nestled in 
my arms and slept upon my breast — in the bright 
world to which I go ? How every fibre of our 
being thrills at the very suggestion ! The Bible 
fully warrants this conclusion, affirmatively ; every 
intuition of the human soul is adjusted to it. 

The attributes, out of which these aspirations 
arise, are attributes of the soul, not of the body ; 
passing with the soul, into the life to come, and 
finding practical exemplification there. Blessed 



206 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 

thought ! Heaven-sent, sweet assurance ! Be com- 
forted, heart-broken mother ; the little one you 
have laid away in the grave, is cradled in the gentle 
embraces of a loving Savior, who, while on earth, said 
— " Suffer the little ones to come unto me, and forbid 
them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven;" 
who, also, said — " their angels do always stand 
before the face of my Father in Heaven." He will 
give them to you again, and wipe away all tears. 
Be comforted, God-loving yet smitten father, 
brother, sister, friend ; Heaven is large enough for 
us all : all your loved ones, redeemed by grace, are 
safely garnered there, and you shall re-embrace 
them, by and by. The blow you have received, as 
God designs, shall help you to a better life : His 
loving interference will soon be realized ; and thus, 
in time, you, too, will be prepared for the better 
life, to which you are hastening. 

Is it objected that the postulate of recognition, 
involves the idea that the memory of lost ones, as 
also earthly sins, will be preserved; marring, thus, 
the happiness of Heaven ? The Bible answers this 
objection, fully : — " I will blot out all your trans- 
gressions, and remember them no more against you." 
Time heals most wounds ; Heaven will heal the 
rest : the moral order is wisely ordained, in this 
respect. Part of the suffering of the wicked, may 
consist of the memory of misdeeds on the earth ; 
but God, as He clearly states in His word, 
graciously interferes, in the case of His redeemed 
ones, and blots out the very memory of earthly 
wrong-doing. As with the latter, so with respect to 
those we have loved on earth ; if unredeemed by 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



207 



grace, the memory of them will be blotted out 
forever : precious boon, even this ! as Heaven 
would, indeed, be a place of suffering without it. 

The upper oblong bar, is the bar of God, or 
judgment day of the righteous. Conflicting opin- 
ions are rife in regard to this matter ; none of 
which, however, are of serious importance. What- 
ever the particular sequence of events may be, the 
final result will be the same : — the righteous, by an 
unerring rectitude of knowledge, judgment, and 
precision, will be separated from the wicked, and 
pass into the final, or, as we have chosen to call it, 
the third Heaven, " prepared for them from the 
foundation of the world" : — provided for them, 
from all eternity ; in the moral order of the 
Universe itself ; in the infinite love of God. 

The upper circular figure, is the final Heaven of 
the righteous, after the resurrection of the -body, 
where comparatively material ideas are warranted. 
St. John, in Revelation, speaks of the New Jerusa- 
lem coming down out of Heaven ; and there is, 
here, a not inapt suggestion of the dome of the 
temple at Jerusalem, from which and the city, itself, 
the figure was taken. He speaks, also, of the pure 
river of the water of life, a hint of which is seen in 
the picture. Beautiful flowers are thrown into the 
fore-ground, to indicate the happy state, as well as 
condition, of the righteous, after the resurrection. 

The Bible indicates, that this earth will, one day, 
be destroyed by fire ; and that a new earth will be 
created, in which righteousness shall dwell forever. 
Inasmuch, therefore, as the Garden of Eden was on 
this earth ; our Savior was born, lived, and died 



208 RETRIBUTION ; OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



upon it ; was buried in, and rose from it ; it is fair 
to infer, in accordance with this more than mere 
suggestion of the Bible, that this earth, itself, now 
adapted to a sinful condition, will, by and by, be 
re-adapted, by fire, to a sinless condition, and 
become the final abode of the righteous. 

We are not sure but this is the secondary mean- 
ing of the expression — " prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world" : it expresses, as we 
understand it, the moral order of the Universe, in 
this respect, and so the eternity of Heaven ; but it 
also includes, or may refer to, the fact, that the 
earth, itself, is, in reality, to become the final 
Heaven of its redeemed ones. The conclusion is 
not only scriptural, it gives a reality to all our views 
upon this great subject. Our present conceptions, 
are too vague and unreal : much of the doubt, 
uncertainty, and unbelief, that now prevail, in 
regard to the soul, the future life, and Heaven, 
would be relieved, if not entirely removed, if this 
view were generally accepted. We can see no pos- 
sible objection to it ; rather, much in its favor : it 
would vivify and inspire our hopes, as no vague and 
indefinite views can ; and contribute, powerfully, to 
all religious efforts. 

The beautiful flowers thrown into the picture, 
are not without their significance. The aesthetic 
principle is deeply embedded in the human heart ; 
exerting a powerful influence upon unperverted 
minds, while, even the most degraded, are not 
entirely uninfluenced by it. Our flower charities, 
are pregnant illustrations of this truth ; prisoners, 



EXPLANATION OF CHART. 



209 



even, in our jails and penitentiaries, being glad to 
get them : sick rooms and hospitals, are not only 
cheered by them ; convalescence is promoted. 

Beauty is a power in the world, having its 
sanctions deep in human hearts : Eden, itself, was 
called a garden, to indicate, in part, this fact ; and 
that the final home of the pure and good, shall be 
rich in this respect. The re-created earth, as we 
have described it, will, simply, be the Garden of 
Eden restored ; where the beautiful will be expressed 
in every form, and the appreciation of it, constitute 
an essential element of happiness. God made all 
things beautiful, as well as good ; they will be so, 
again, when sin disappears from the earth, and God 
walks, again, upon it. The King's palace must be 
beautiful, within and without ; the New Jerusalem 
must have streets of gold, and gates of pearl ; songs 
of gladness shall abound ; and everlasting- joy, 
shall be upon the heads of all. 

The stellar back-ground, considered with respect 
to the order of the Universe at large, is not the 
least suggestive part of the chart ; indicating, as 
intended, that this earth is not the only one on 
which similar displays of divine glory have been 
made; but, rather, that through the countless ages 
of eternity past, as, doubtless, will be the case in 
eternity to come, analogous scenes of infinite glory, 
power, wisdom, and love, have been, and will con- 
tinue to be, witnessed. 

We need add but little to what has already been 
said, on this branch of our subject. The physical 
order of the Universe, includes an unending series, 
possibly, of solar systems, of which our own is but 



2 IO RETRIBUTION j OR HE A VEN AND HELL. 



a single one ; this being the inductive testimony of 
both astronomy and reason, inadequate as our con- 
ceptions of it, must necessarily be. The fixed stars 
are central suns of other systems, as all agree ; 
£ their number, incomputable. Some thousands, only, 
are visible to the naked eye ; but telescopic vision 
increases their number so vastly, as to indicate, if 
not assure, infinity. 

As now understood, our solar system, if a solid 
ball, or earth, would have a diameter of 5,700,000,000 
miles ; this being the orbital diameter of the planet 
Neptune, the outermost one of our system. Recall, 
now, that the entire system is revolving in space, 
at such immense astronomical distances from even 
the nearest of the fixed stars as to be entirely 
unaffected by them, and some faint idea of the 
boundlessness of space, may begin to be had. 
Multiply the orbital diameter of Neptune, by the 
number of the fixed stars — the central suns of other 
systems of like dimensions — now within telescopic 
vision, and in this way, also, a further range to our 
already staggering conceptions, may be had. Con- 
sider, further, that the whole visible Universe, as 
thus indicated, is infinitely smaller, as compared 
with the invisible Universe, than the head of a pin, 
as compared with our solar system, and though we 
have reached far, far beyond human conceptions, 
we have • entered, even then, upon the threshold, 
merely, of the palace of the Great King : compar- 
isons, here, are without force ; hyperbole, meaning- 
less. 



<A if 0 



